140831-a
After dismantling land programs, Scott now wants funds for them
Tampa Bay Times – by Craig Pittman
August 31, 2014
When Gov. Rick Scott unveiled a proposal this month to revive Florida's popular environmental land-buying program, to the tune of $150 million a year, the news caught Greg Brock off guard.
"I was kind of shocked," said Brock, who recently retired from the Division of State Lands.
That's because Scott's administration has spent the past three years dismantling the division of the Department of Environmental Protection that's in charge of assessing and acquiring environmental land, according to Brock and other former DEP employees.
Their funding was cut, their staffing numbers were trimmed back, and their focus was shifted away from buying property to trying to get rid of it, they said.
"There was a marked challenge to reduce the division to the very minimal amount of people you could operate with," said Mike Long, who rose to acting division director before he quit in 2012.
The remaining employees were told that their objective "was changing from a goal of protecting conservation land to more of 'We own land and we can't afford to manage it, so we should look around for buyers,' " Long said.
Scott's DEP proposed, and the Legislature authorized, a drive in 2013 to sell off $50 million worth of its park and preserve property and then use the money raised to buy more land. The proposed sell-off created statewide controversy as waves of people objected. The DEP ended up abandoning the effort without having sold a single parcel.
"That was just crazy," said Judy Warrick, who retired this year after 15 years, 10 of which she spent piecing together a complex series of land deals for a major Everglades restoration project covering 50,000 acres. "They didn't perceive that it was as important as it was to the public."
DEP press secretary Tiffany Cowie said the agency is still keenly interested in buying land.
"The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is committed to buying valuable conservation lands across the state," Cowie said.
Before Scott took office, Warrick said, 40 people worked at the DEP buying land as part of the politically popular Florida Forever program. But many of them left via resignation or early retirement because they did not like the direction taken by the Scott administration. One, Jim Farr, joked that if he'd stayed, he'd be facing homicide charges.
DEP records show the acquisition and real estate services staff now consists of 14 people. Former DEP employees say the number is actually in single digits but that repeated division reorganizations have disguised just how deep the cuts have been.
But Cowie said changes made to the lands division only reduced duplication, and "current staffing numbers are generally consistent with previous years."
Beginning in 1990, using programs such as Preservation 2000 and Florida Forever, Florida invested $300 million a year in buying environmentally sensitive land. The money came from bonds repaid by the sale of documentary stamps on real estate transactions. The land-buying programs assembled a diverse collection of swamps, forests, beaches and other parks and preserves, which was popular with the public.
But then a backlash began, with critics in the Legislature complaining that the government owns too much land. Government agencies own more than 25 percent of the 34.2 million acres in Florida, a figure that includes not only parks, but also prisons, military bases, college campuses and other uses.
During Florida's recent economic meltdown, real estate sales dwindled, and the Legislature cut the funding. Even when there was still a few million dollars for buying land, though, "we had a secretary who didn't want to spend any of it," said Brock, who spent nearly 30 years with the DEP. Instead, top officials assigned the land-buying staff "mind-boggling things" that seemed designed to be mere make-work projects, he said.
In public, the man whom Scott picked as his DEP agency head in January 2011, Secretary Herschel Vinyard Jr., touted the value of the state's parks and preserves. But behind closed doors, he was less enthusiastic, the former employees said.
Vinyard's lack of enthusiasm went public last year in a very dramatic fashion, they said, when phosphate mining giant Mosaic — as part of a legal settlement with the Sierra Club and other environmental groups — offered to hand over to the state for free a $4 million parcel.
The 4,100-acre Peaceful Horse Ranch was already on the state's acquisition list. It lies along 7 miles of the Peace River, where the woods and wetlands are full of bald eagles, gopher tortoises, wood storks, sandhill cranes and ospreys.
In an unprecedented move, the DEP told Mosaic no thanks. Vinyard said his experts had looked over the ranch and "determined the property was not appropriate to take on as a state park."
That wasn't the only parcel rejected — just the one that garnered headlines, said Farr, who served as staff director of the state's Acquisition and Restoration Council until he took early retirement. The council sets the priorities for which land will be bought.
"We weren't allowed to accept donations of in-holdings in the Everglades and Lake Wales Ridge areas, even though we would be getting for free something that would make it easier to manage the state lands we already owned," he said.
Meanwhile, Farr said, Vinyard was "slowly dismantling the land acquisition division."
That's why hearing Scott's proposal to revive the land-buying effort — albeit at half of the funding level that it once enjoyed — was such a shock to Brock and the others.
"But it's an election year," Brock said, chuckling. "I guess anything can happen."

140831-b
NextGen Climate on Rick Scott’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week
SainPetersBlog - by Peter Schorsch
August 31, 2014
Rick Scott had a rough week.
Yes, the incumbent governor easily won the Republican primary on Tuesday – as if there was any doubt.
But for Scott, the first week of the General Election was simply one disaster after another, at least in the eyes of NextGen Climate Florida, the state’s environmental PAC founded by billionaire Tom Steyer.
Between Big Sugar, Duke Energy and other issues, NextGen Climate received abundant ammunition to help Scott launch his 70-day march to November in full meltdown mode.
A recap of Scott’s disastrous first week, courtesy of NextGen Climate:
On Monday, NextGen Climate unveiled “Secret,” a new television ad exposing the governor’s “cozy relationship” with Florida’s powerful sugar interests. Focusing on a secret trip to the exclusive King Ranch in Texas, which was bankrolled Big Sugar, the ad accused Scott of hunting for campaign contributions.
Scott received $756,462.68 in campaign contributions from the sugar industry since 2012, including $100,000 after signing a bill using taxpayer funds to address pollution in the Everglades, much of which caused by Big Sugar, NextGen Climate says.
Following Scott’s anticlimactic primary win, Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald reported on Wednesday of a secret deal to build a “legacy” garden at the Governor’s Mansion, by buying adjacent commercial property to install a “grand boulevard and a visitors commons.”
“Everyone involved was using state time to do the work,” Klas wrote, “they wanted to avoid creating a public records trail, so they used private email accounts and private cell phones to keep what they were doing out of the public eye.”
Among the groups helping to fund the garden — U.S. Sugar, Florida Crystals and Florida Power & Light— all are direct beneficiaries of Scott’s policies..
In a followup on Thursday,the Herald announced it had acquired documents showing Scott’s administration intentionally used private communications for conversations concerning the secret garden deal, so to skirt any potential public records requests.
These disclosures further support the Herald’s claim of a disturbing “culture” in the governor’s office of avoiding trails of public records, by using private email accounts and private cell phones.
The governor’s laundry list of outrageous attempts to undermine public access led the Miami Herald to declare, “Among Florida’s recent governors, none has a worse record on transparency and open government than incumbent Rick Scott.”
They continued that Scott clearly sees open government as an “inconvenience,” adding that Florida deserves a governor “who honors that tradition instead of one trying to destroy it.”
 All told, Scott undeniably had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week.

140831-c
Special Indian River Lagoon water district in the works
TCPalm.com – by Tyler Treadway
August 31, 2014
Treasure Coast - Counties and cities all along the Indian River Lagoon may soon get more power to decide how to clean the water and more money to do it
A proposal to turn the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program into an independent special water district could be accomplished by early 2015
The program currently is sponsored locally by the St. Johns River Water Management District, which pays all the operating costs. The district’s board has final say in doling out the program’s $500,000 to $600,000 in federal matching grants for lagoon restoration and education projects each year.
Program Director Maurice Sterling said creating the Indian River Lagoon Special Water District would make counties and cities along the lagoon “equal partners’ with the St. Johns district in deciding which lagoon projects get federal funds.
 Of course, to be “equal partners” the cities and counties also will have to be “contributing partners”.; That’s the source of some of the extra money for projects.
With all these new paying partners where there was only one before that alone should mean more money for more projects,” Sterling said. “Everybody agrees that more needs to be done for the lagoon: well, the answer to that is more money.”
DUES TO COME.
How much each equal partner will pay is still being negotiated, Sterling said, adding he anticipates “healthy contributions” from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and St. Johns and South Florida water districts, with less coming from local entities.
Sterling said counties and cities should consider board membership as money well spent: They’ll have a voice in deciding what projects will be done in the lagoon, and some of the projects in contention might be in their areas.
There could be practical benefits to being in on the decision-making” he said.
More funding for the program may be coming down the pike.
U.S. Reps. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, and Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, have introduced legislation to shift more money in the National Estuary Program toward local projects rather than overhead. Almost 40 percent of the federal program’s $25.1 million annual budget pays administrative costs, from salaries to travel expenses.
This year each of the 28 estuaries in the program nationwide received $538,000. The bill would take $3.7 million of the operative budget to create a competitive grant program giving extra cash for estuaries.
NO NEW TAXES
The proposed special water district would not be able to levy taxes like the other Florida water management districts do.
“No, no, no,”said Martin County Commissioner Ed Fielding. “I don’t want people to think somebody else is going to hit them with more taxes.
”Fielding, founder and chairman of a panel made up of commissioners from the five counties along lagoon, said creating a special water district along the same lines will give us the ability to address all the water quality issues, north and south.”
The existing water management districts still will have their ongoing cleanup projects in the lagoon. Kevin Powers of Stuart, the Treasure Coast representative on the South Florida Water Management District board, said creating a special lagoon water district will only enhance those projects.
“The lagoon crosses county lines and water district lines,” Powers said. “You can’t address the lagoon’s issues if you stay within those lines.”
CURRENT INDIAN RIVER LAGOON NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program began in 1990
Indian River Lagoon was charter member.
Lagoon is one of four national estuaries in Florida with Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor
St. Johns River Water Management District, which includes Volusia, Brevard and Indian River counties, is local sponsor
South Florida Water Management District oversees program activities in Martin and St. Lucie counties
EPA funds $500,000-$600,000 annually for lagoon water quality projects; local agency or nonprofit must match St. Johns district board must approve
$200 million contributed since inception
$500,000-$600,000 additional annual budget funds:
$300,000 for personnel (director, contract coordinator, education coordinator, staff scientist)
$200,000 for overhead
$50,000-$70,000 for contracted administrative support
If you go -
What: Indian River Lagoon Counties Collaborative meeting
When: 1-4 p.m. Friday
Where: Indian River County Commission Chambers, Building A, 1801 27th St., Vero Beach
What to expect: Martin County Commissioner Ed Fielding, collaborative founder and chairman, will give a report on efforts to make the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, now under the St. Johns River Water Management District, a special independent water district.

140830-a
Here’s why manatees should stay endangered
Ryot.org
August 30, 2014
MIAMI (AP) — As they do whenever they visit Florida, Greg Groff and his young daughter stopped by the manatee pool at Miami Seaquarium, where the speed bump-shaped marine mammals placidly swim in circles.
They noted the pink scars and disfigured tail on one manatee, damage from a boat propeller that left it unable to survive in the wild.
Florida’s manatees need even more stringent protections than their listing on the federal endangered species list, Groff said, adding that boaters should go elsewhere if they don’t like speed limits in waters where manatees swim.
“There’s plenty of places they can go faster,” the Chicago man said. “They can go out in the middle of the ocean if they want to go much, much, much quicker, and you won’t have to worry about them running the manatees over.”
Groff’s comments are representative of the environmentalist and general public side of an ongoing fight with a group of boaters, businesses and conservatives over whether the manatee should retain its 1967 federal listing as an endangered species, the most protective classification.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing whether the manatee should be reclassified as a “threatened” species, which would allow some flexibility for federal officials as the species recovers while maintaining most of the protections afforded to animals listed as endangered.
As part of the lengthy review process, the agency is seeking public comment on its finding that a petition to reclassify the manatee has merits. The deadline is Tuesday. A decision on whether a change is warranted won’t be made until the agency completes its review, which could take a year.
Manatees, also known as sea cows, are vegetarian giants that average nearly 10 feet long and 2,200 pounds and live near the shore and in coastal waterways around much of Florida. The animal’s biggest threats are boats, cold water, toxic algae blooms and fishing debris like discarded lines and ropes.
“If we come to the end of this and decide reclassification is warranted, it’s good news because it means the manatee is recovering and no longer on the brink of extinction,” agency spokesman Chuck Underwood said.
Critics of the manatee’s current endangered listing say manatees are important to the state’s tourism industry and environment, so everyone wants them to thrive, but the species has recovered sufficiently over the last 47 years to be reclassified. Florida’s manatee population has grown from several hundred in 1967 to over 4,800 in this year.
Under current regulations, boaters must avoid manatee areas or obey tight speed limits and fishermen can’t use some equipment.
Save Crystal River Inc. and the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation petitioned the government in 2012 to reclassify the manatee, citing a 2007 federal review that recommended listing the species as threatened since the population is recovering. They say if the federal government followed its own rules, the reclassification should be automatic.
“The truth is the manatee is protected the same as threatened as endangered, but they no longer can use the species to take over sovereign lands and sovereign waters with arbitrary rules,” said Steve Lamb, vice president of Save Crystal River, a group that represents about 100 members that include recreational boaters, tour operators, dive shops and hotels. The river, about 80 miles north of Tampa on Florida’s Gulf Coast, is warmed by natural springs and is a favorite winter congregating spot for manatees.
According to the wildlife service, officials began working on the reclassification proposal in 2013, but those efforts were suspended amid funding constraints, the U.S. government shutdown and concerns over recent spikes in manatee deaths, particularly during cold snaps. A record 829 manatees died last year, breaking the 2010 record of 766, according to state records.
The most worrisome deaths last year were not collisions with boats. A record 276 manatee deaths were caused by a toxic red tide bloom in the Gulf of Mexico. There were also the unexplained deaths of more than 100 manatees on Florida’s east coast, where pollution and algae blooms have plagued a vital lagoon ecosystem.
Save the Manatees Club Executive Director Pat Rose said that while the species has certainly rebounded, the jump in deaths, particularly during cold snaps, means more work is needed before they lose endangered status.
“The most compelling reason not to down-list them is the status of their ecosystems,” Rose said. “If you maintain good quality habitat, you can overcome catastrophic mortality events. If you are dealing with both catastrophic mortality events and unrelenting compromises to their aquatic ecosystems at the same time, that’s when you need to be acting very conservatively.”
But Lamb says the government is bowing to political pressure and emotion, highlighting conservation efforts at the expense of the law and business.
“Does anyone ever want to talk about how last year 1,000 manatees were born? Heck, no. All they want to talk about is how many died,” Lamb said.
The vast majority of comments submitted to the wildlife service plead with officials to continue listing the manatee as endangered. Florida residents cite the manatees they’ve seen with scars from run-ins with boats or fishing debris, while out-of-state commenters describe the thrill of spotting the unique marine mammals in the water.
Some say the manatee should be protected as a symbol, not just as an animal.
“In a world filled with war, deadly viruses, and everyday violence … the gentle manatee offers a vision of peaceful existence all would like to possess,” wrote one commenter.
Related:           Editorial: Endangered manatees         Ocala
Manatees might lose endangered species status         Columbia Missourian

140830-b
Thumb up: Osceola County commissioners reverse course, close development at headwaters of Everglades
TCPalm – Editorial Board
August 30, 2014
NEW DIRECTION: It was a bad decision last spring by Osceola County commissioners to open the headwaters of the Everglades to development.
What were they thinking ?
However, after Audubon of Florida sued the county, commissioners did something worth noting: They changed course and reversed their decision.
The Everglades one of the nation’s greatest environmental treasures; already has enough problems. Opening the headwaters to development and all the potential environmental problems that can follow from such a decision was clearly a step in the wrong direction.
(Continued upon subscription to TCPalm)

140829-a
Confused about Indian River Lagoon issues ? Get answers at riverkeeper fundraiser
TCPalm.com – by Susan Burgess
August 29, 2014
FORT PIERCE -- Threading through the dizzying political spin on water-quality issues is not easy for busy families, but clean-river advocates aim to stop the merry-go-round at Saturday’s fundraiser for the watchdog Indian Riverkeeper program.
Nine local experts, including all three of the Indian River Lagoon’s past and present riverkeepers, will help untangle the issues at the Rockin’ With Our Riverkeeper, hosted by the Original Tiki Bar by Fort Pierce Marina.
“I grew up thinking the water was supposed to be black,” said Katy Lewey, a Port St. Lucie mother of two and River Kidz St. Lucie County founder. “It wasn’t until last summer and hearing the stories from the older generations that I realized our lagoon once had 100 percent visibility to the bottom.”
Citing the bacteria and toxic algae found in the lagoon in recent years, Lewey said, “As a mom living in Florida, these issues are very real and very alarming. Whether you’re a mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle and especially a child, we all have a right to clean water.”
It’s imperative people understand how important the November elections will be for water issues, she said. Staff from the Elections Office will be on hand to register new voters and answer questions.
“We know these problems will not be fixed without political support,” Lewey said. “Don’t just believe what the postcards say, check (the candidate’s) track record, see who has been contributing toward their campaign; more importantly, don’t be afraid to ask questions.”
Lewey and current Riverkeeper Marty Baum said some good projects are up for discussion Saturday.
“This is the perfect venue for people to come out and ask questions,” Lewey said. “Talk to the people who have been in the thick of this problem. We are strongly urging the community to come out and listen to the many solutions, the issues we are dealing with and what we all need to be doing today.”
Net proceeds, which will include the raffle of two Sweetwater kayaks, will go to support the riverkeeper program, said Baum. “We operate with very little money so donations and fundraisers are very important.”
IF YOU GO
What: Rockin’ With Our Riverkeeper
When: Noon to 3 p.m. Aug. 30
Where: Original Tiki Bar, Marina Square waterfront, 2 Avenue A, Fort Pierce; 461-0880
Why: Riverkeeper fundraiser with food, beverages, music, speakers and voter registration
Info: www.indianriverkeeper.org
SPEAKERS
Kevin Stinette: original riverkeeper, current Marine and Oceanographic Academy teacher at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
George Jones: Ocean Research & Conservation Association, former riverkeeper
Marty Baum: current riverkeeper
Mark Perry: Florida Oceanographic Society
Charles Grande: Rivers Coalition
Jim Oppenborn: county oyster reef restoration
Chris Dzadovsky: county commissioner
Katy Lewey: River Kidz SLC founder
Austin Iovineo: River Kidz

140829-b
Florida Manatees could lose endangered species status because they are no longer facing extinction
DailyMail.co.uk - by Belinda Robinson
August 29, 2014
- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing whether the gentle manatee should be reclassified as a ‘threatened species’
- Under a 1967 law, the manatee were given a federal listing as an endangered species, the most protective classification
- But Florida's manatee population has grown from several hundred in 1967 to over 4,800 this year
- A record 829 manatees died last year, breaking the 2010 record of 766
The much-loved Florida manatee could soon be taken off the endangered species list and reclassified as ‘threatened’ according to wildlife officials.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing whether the gentle manatee should be reclassified as a ‘threatened species,’ because they're no longer facing extinction.
Under a 1967 law, the manatee were given a federal listing as an endangered species, the most protective classification.
Now environmentalists are engaged in an ongoing fight with a group of boaters, businesses and conservatives over whether the manatee should have its status changed.
Agency spokesman, Chuck Underwood said: ‘If we come to the end of this and decide reclassification is warranted, it's good news because it means the manatee is recovering and no longer on the brink of extinction.’
The agency is seeking public comment on its finding that a petition to reclassify the manatee has merits by Tuesday.
A decision on whether a change is warranted won't be made until the agency completes its review, which could take a year.
But hundreds of manatees are still being scarred and having their tails disfigured from boat propellers zooming around Florida's waters which is leaving them unable to survive in the wild.
Chicago resident Greg Groff regularly stops by the Miami Seaquarium with his young daughter Olivia to see the speed bump-shaped marine mammals.
As he watched the sea cows swim in circles, he noted the pink scars on one’s body.
He argues that the manatees need even more stringent protections than their listing on the federal endangered species list.
He said boaters should go elsewhere if they don't like speed limits in waters where manatees swim.
Manatees, also known as sea cows, are vegetarian giants that average nearly 10 feet long and 2,200 pounds.
They live near the shore and in coastal waterways around much of Florida.
The animal's biggest threats are boats, cold water, toxic algae blooms and fishing debris like discarded lines and ropes.
A record 829 manatees died last year, breaking the 2010 record of 766, according to state records.
But the most worrisome deaths last year were not collisions with boats.
A record 276 manatee deaths were caused by a toxic red tide bloom in the Gulf of Mexico.
There were also the unexplained deaths of more than 100 manatees on Florida's east coast, where pollution and algae blooms have plagued a vital lagoon ecosystem.
Meanwhile, critics of the manatee's current endangered listing say manatees are important to the state's tourism industry and environment.
They suggest that the species has recovered sufficiently over the last 47 years to be reclassified.
Under current regulations, boaters must avoid manatee areas or obey tight speed limits and fishermen can't use some equipment.
In 2012, Save Crystal River Inc. and the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation petitioned the government to reclassify the manatee.
The group represents about 100 members that include recreational boaters, tour operators, dive shops and hotels.
They cited a 2007 federal review that recommended listing the species as threatened since the population is recovering.
Steve Lamb, vice president of Save Crystal River said: ‘The truth is the manatee is protected the same as threatened as endangered, but they no longer can use the species to take over sovereign lands and sovereign waters with arbitrary rules.’
According to the wildlife service, officials began working on the reclassification proposal in 2013.
It was shelved due to funding constraints during the U.S. government shutdown and concerns over recent spikes in manatee deaths.
Save the Manatees Club Executive Director Pat Rose said that while the species has certainly rebounded, more work needs to be done.
‘The most compelling reason not to down-list them is the status of their ecosystems,’ Rose said.
‘If you maintain good quality habitat, you can overcome catastrophic mortality events.
‘If you are dealing with both catastrophic mortality events and unrelenting compromises to their aquatic ecosystems at the same time, that's when you need to be acting very conservatively.
But Lamb says the government is bowing to political pressure and emotion, highlighting conservation efforts at the expense of the law and business.
‘Does anyone ever want to talk about how last year 1,000 manatees were born? Heck, no. All they want to talk about is how many died,’ Lamb said.
Related:           Manatees may lose endangered species status            Daytona Beach News-Journal
Manatees may soon get Threatened Species Status    News Tonight Africa

140829-c
Morrison Pump Company awarded pump contract for US Army Corps
Impeller.net
August 29, 2014
Morrison Pump Company has been awarded the contract to supply eight high capacity Morrison Axial Flow Pumps for the US Army Corps of Engineers Picayune Strand Restoration Project.
These pumps will be installed in the Miller Pump Station in Florida as part of the Florida Everglades Restoration Project, restoring fresh water flow, rehydrating 55,000 acres of drained wetlands, and returning habitat to threatened wildlife communities.
The eight high-efficiency Morrison Vertical Pumps shall provide over 700,000 gallons per minute (44 m3/s) total pumping capacity. Six high flow Morrison Pumps shall be diesel engine driven and contain 30 feet (9.1 meters) long US Army Corps-type formed suction intakes, and two low flow Morrison Pumps shall be electric motor driven. Morrison Pump Company shall also be providing a physical hydraulic model study of the pump station intake systems and factory pump performance testing, in support of this important environmental project.
Morrison Pump Company has completed initial pump engineering and analyses and plans to commence manufacture in 2015. The eight (8) Morrison Vertical Pumps, along with diesel engines, speed reducers, electric motors and control panels are scheduled for delivery in 2016.

140829-d
Water district looking at $100 million to build wetland along C-44 Canal
TCPalm.com – by Tyler Treadway
August 29, 2014
The South Florida Water Management District Governing Board will consider paying a Treasure Coast company more than $100 million to build a 6,300-acre wetland as part of a massive project to store and clean water heading to the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon.
Blue Goose Construction of Fort Pierce had the lowest bid — $100,792,387 — of eight companies vying to build the stormwater treatment area along the C-44 (St. Lucie) Canal east of Indiantown. The stormwater treatment area and an adjacent 3,400-acre reservoir being built by the Army Corps of Engineers are designed to capture local stormwater runoff in the canal and remove much of the nitrogen and phosphorus before the water reaches the estuary.
This summer, for example, the corps opened gates at the St. Lucie Lock and Dam from June 12 to Aug. 21, allowing about 19.9 billion gallons of runoff from the canal’s basin to pour into the estuary. That’s enough to cover the entire city of Stuart with slightly more than 11 feet of water.
No water has been released from Lake Okeechobee this year. The C-44 project is not designed to alleviate Lake O discharges.
The district board members will consider the contract at their Sept. 11 meeting in West Palm Beach.
As is the case with most federal/state water projects, the district and Martin County bought about 10,000 acres on the north side of the canal and the corps was scheduled to build the entire project. This month, the corps finished building canals leading into and out of the site. The corps planned to build the project’s reservoir next, and the stormwater treatment area after that.
To help speed up construction, the district board agreed in July to build the stormwater treatment area while the corps builds the reservoir.
Even with the expedited plan, the project isn’t expected to be fully operational until 2020.

140828-a
Algae blooms keep killing lagoon fish
Florida Today – by Jim Waymer
August 28, 2014
Norman and Sylvia Hervey snapped shots of these dead fish behind their Cocoa Beach home Thursday morning. An algae bloom has been killing fish throughout the Indian River Lagoon this month.
Summer algae blooms continue to take a deadly toll on the Indian River Lagoon.
Sylvia and Norman Hervey smelled the foul, fatal fallout this morning in the canal behind their Cocoa Beach home on South Banana River Boulevard.
"There were literally thousands out there this morning," Sylvia Hervey said of the small floating fish she saw.
"A lot of them have sunk now," she added. "It does smell pretty bad right now. The water was very green.
Late Wednesday, they'd noticed about 60 dead fish in the canal.
Fish kills have been reported in the Indian River Lagoon this month from Titusville to Grant-Valkaria.
According to a state database that records fish kills, about 200 flounder were reported dead Monday between Eau Gallie and Melbourne causeways and about 2,000 flounder were reported dead along Riverside Drive in Indialantic.
Earlier this month, scientists with the St. Johns River Water Management District reported two algae blooms near State Road 50 in Titusville and one bloom south of the NASA Causeway.

140828-b
Florida Power & Light cooling canals at Turkey Point nuclear power plant still too hot
Miami Herald - by Jenny Staletovich
August 28, 2014
Canals that keep two Turkey Point nuclear reactors from overheating need millions more gallons of water to stay cool.
Florida Power & Light needs millions more gallons of freshwater to manage cooling canals that keep two nuclear reactors at Turkey Point from overheating, company officials said in an emergency request to the South Florida Water Management District.
The hot canals do not pose a safety risk, federal regulators have said, but they have forced the utility to dial back operations over the scorching summer. So with the heat showing no sign of easing, could brownouts be far off?
“We have record electricity demand and what we’re doing is taking proactive action to make sure we can effectively manage the situation in an environmentally responsible way while maintaining reliability for our customers,” said FPL spokesman Michael Waldron.
To cool the canals, the Water Management District on Thursday authorized pumping up to 100 million gallons of water a day from a nearby canal system, but only if it doesn’t take too much water stored for Everglades restoration. The canals carry freshwater to Biscayne Bay and tamp down salinity, which can fuel algae blooms and harm marine life.
The 100 million gallons would be in addition to 14 million gallons a day from the Floridan aquifer that water managers approved in June, after high temperatures threatened to shut down the reactors.
With blistering heat this summer, the canals have proved difficult to manage. High temperatures, bright sunny days and little rain in that area, coupled with a festering algae bloom throughout the 168-mile canal system, caused water temperatures to spike, FPL officials said. Earlier this month, the Nuclear Regulatory Agency granted a request from the utility to up operating temperature limits in the canals from 100 degrees to 104 degrees to keep reactors running.
But despite the aquifer water and the addition of chemicals to treat the algae, canal temperatures remain high. In July and August, temperatures at times reached 102 degrees, officials said in their request to water managers. If temperatures exceed 104 degrees, the plant’s two nuclear reactors would need to start shutting down within 12 hours, “which could impact grid reliability,” the letter said.
The water from the nearby L-31E canal system, FPL officials say, will not only cool the canals but help fight heat-trapping algae and reduce salinity in the canals, which is currently 50 percent higher than normal.
“We have seen some improvements, but it’s just not enough right now and we need more water in the canals,” said FPL spokesman Greg Brostowicz.
Diverting water to the canals has renewed concerns about damaging nearby Biscayne Bay, which has withered over the decades as water from historic Everglades flow got redirected in a canal system designed to prevent flooding. In its order on Thursday, water managers said FPL can only draw water from the L-31E if levels are above what’s needed to restore the bay. The order expires on Oct. 15, the historic end of the South Florida rainy season.
“After Oct. 15 is when we don’t have the regular flows and that’s when we get really concerned that you’re going to get salinity rising and problems spiraling,” said Jane Graham, an Everglades policy analyst for Audubon Florida.
The decision to pump the 100 million gallons will be an important test of district rules designed to protect water, Graham said.
With the plant sitting between two national parks, concerns over damage have dogged Turkey Point since the 1970s when environmentalists sued to keep FPL from dumping billions of gallons of hot water into Biscayne Bay. Today, the canals cool the water by circulating it through a radiator-like loop without escaping into the bay. But environmentalists worry that the increasingly heavy salty water in the canals is sinking deeper, pushing an underground saltwater plume further inland. Environmentalists have also worried that a $3 billion expansion of the plant to generate 15 percent more power has driven up canal temperatures.
Waldron said the expansion only increased temperatures in the cooling canal by one or two degrees, not enough to affect the summer spikes. But the repeated requests for water have some questioning the plant’s future.
“The real question is once they have permission to draw off the surplus water... then they can start incrementally petitioning for more water,” said South Miami Mayor Phil Stoddard, a Florida International University biologist. “How far can they push this?”
Water managers say they will take daily measurements and notify FPL by 10 a.m. whether there is enough water to be be pumped between the two canal systems.
Related:           Storm Water Canals Near Turkey Point Will Be Used For Cooling ...          CBS Local

140828-c
NextGen ad attacks Rick Scott for “cozy relationship” with Big Sugar
SaintPetersBlog.com - by Phil Ammann
August 28, 2014
After bashing Gov. Rick Scott for campaign contributions from Duke Energy, a new digital ad from NextGen Climate now highlights the incumbent Republican’s “cozy relationship” with the sugar industry.
“Secret” is the latest 30-second spot that capitalizes on the scandal involving Scott’s secret trip to King Ranch, an exclusive ranch in Texas, as a guest of U.S. Sugar.
“Scott has a sweet tooth for donations from the powerful few,” says the NextGen Climate press release. “In fact … Scott has received $756,462.68 in campaign contributions from the sugar industry since 2012, including $100,000 in the wake of signing a bill that left taxpayers on the hook for cleaning up Big Sugar’s mess in the Everglades.”
In this latest ad, Scott faces additional NextGen Climate scrutiny for his decision to name Mitch Hutchcraft, a King Ranch executive, to the water management board that oversees the Florida Everglades restoration project.
“Sweet deals for the powerful few,” the ad concludes. “Not for you.”
In August, NextGen Climate and Progress Florida sent a joint letter to Scott asking the governor to release information about Hutchcraft’s appointment, as well as all information about donations and correspondence related to his King Ranch hunting trip.
NextGen Climate Florida is the local arm of the environmental PAC founded by billionaire liberal Tom Steyer, which has raised $1.86 million through Aug. 21.
Steyer, a former hedge fund executive, promises to use up to $100 million of his $1.6 billion net worth for NextGen Climate Action Super PACs, which spotlight candidates he sees as bad for the environment.
In addition to Scott, NextGen Climate PACs set its sights on Senate races with Democratic-held seats with serious Republican challenges, as in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan and New Hampshire as well as governor’s races in Maine and Pennsylvania.
“Secret” is now available on YouTube.

140828-d
Study’s completed, now to create a plan of attack
ClayTodayOnline.com - by Gregory A. Phillips, Staff Writer
August 28, 2014
MIDDLEBURG – Officials working on Clay County’s water problems are prepping to sit down and talk about how to implement the study findings.
Clay County Utility Authority official plan to meet with officials from the St. Johns River Water Management District to develop a plan to relax the pressure placed on the upper Floridan Aquifer in an attempt to replenish the dried up lakes in Keystone Heights.
The latest study the CCUA contracted was to get a feel for how much stormwater runoff could be captured from the First Coast Expressway phase one construction project. After several observations and calculations, the study concluded that the CCUA could conceivably capture up to 2.5 million gallons of water per year from phase one alone.
"We just finished a study on reclaimed stormwater runoff from phase one of the Outer Beltway," said David Bolam, chief engineer CCUA. "If we just capture the water off the beltway, it looks like that’ll be two-to-three million gallons of water a year. If we try to capture the stormwater runoff beneath the beltway that would from page 3
increase the water to close to five million gallons of water a year."
The Keystone area lakes targeted for improvement are Lake Brooklyn and Lake Geneva. These two lakes have a direct tie to the Floridan Aquifer. Bolam said drought is the main harm to lake shrinkage.
Without water replenishment, the aquifer gets lower and the lakes’ water seeps into the aquifer. COO Jeremy Johnston has been working on not only this issue, but water conservation in general.
"The water management district and all of the North Florida utility authorities have been actively looking at this trying to refine the science to accurately determine what the issues are. Once we make that determination we can apply the same science to find out what are the most cost effective ways to resolve the issues," Johnston said. "Northeast Florida remains outside the worst of the drought areas. We continue to see 15-to 28-percent conservation from our customers. For the fiscal year we see a conservation rate of 24-percent."
Drought is just one factor. Another is increasing draws on the aquifer by Central Florida concerns.
"Over 90 percent of the water used in Florida is from the [Upper Floridan] aquifer," said Hank Largin, public communications coordinator for SJRWMD. "We’re reaching the sustainable limit that we can take out of the aquifer."
The goal is to avoid a long-term water shortage.
"I think the Utility Authority is committed to find the right science for the right solution and not just settle for a knee jerk reaction," Johnston said.

140828-e
The sting of climate change: Jellyfish invade Florida beaches
BeaconOnlineNews.com - by Stephanie Carson
Aug 28, 2014
Volusia County waters are currently clear of jellyfish
NEW SMYRNA BEACH — This Labor Day weekend, thousands of Floridians and visitors may feel more than just the sting of a sunburn. Jellyfish are hanging around beaches, with at least 400 people stung last weekend alone. While the toxin-tentacled animal has long been a part of beach-life, "jellyfish blooms" are becoming more common due to warming temperatures at the water surface and other factors related to climate change.
Billy Causey is regional director of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
"What this is telling us is that something is not right in our ocean," Causey says. "It's a symptom of a sick ocean. It's a symptom of pollution. It's a symptom of elevated sea-surface temperatures."
Jellyfish are just one of the "pests" listed in a new report released by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Ticked Off: America's Outdoor Experience and Climate Change found that a variety of pests - including fire ants, stink bugs, ticks and mosquitoes - are proliferating as the climate changes.
Dr. Doug Inkley authored the NWF report and says there is mounting evidence of a warming climate and the negative impacts associated with it.
"It's not our imagination, this is already happening," Inkley says. "We must take action now, for our children's future and for our outdoor experience future."
Algal blooms, according to the report, are another consequence of warming waters. Earlier this month, a "red tide" impacted parts of the Florida coast. Causey says reports like this one from the NWF serve to "connect the dots" of climate change and human behavior, something he says has not been done up until this point.
"We've seen declines in fisheries. We've seen declines in various areas, but what we haven't done is really link human pollution to the health of the ocean," says Causey.
The NWF report recommends carbon-emission limits for existing power plants, which the Environmental Protection Agency plans to implement by June of next year. Increasing energy efficiency and investing in clean-energy sources are two other recommendations in the report.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Volusia County Beach Services representative said that swimmers were reporting jellyfish stings over the the weekend, Aug. 23-24, and a red flag warning was put up. The winds and currents changed, and no one has reported stings the past few days.

140828-f
U.S. Sugar sees new opporunities for Hendry County in 43k-acre sector plan
The Clewiston News - by Melissa Beltz
August 28, 2014
The latest version of U.S. Sugar and Hilliard Brothers' 43,000-acre sector plan, which would divide portions of Hendry County into six different land-use areas. The goal of the plan is to attract new people and businesses to Hendry County over the next 46 years.
CLEWISTON — A plan to develop roughly 43,300 acres of Hendry County over the next 46 years is currently in the works, led by the U.S. Sugar Corporation and Hilliard Brothers.
The Hendry County Board of County Commissioners OKed an advancement of the over 43-thousand-acre sector plan at their last regular meeting, held on Aug. 26 in Clewiston City Hall.
The Sugar Hill Sector Plan would allow U.S. Sugar and Hilliard Brothers to develop more than 43,000 acres of U.S. Sugar and Hilliard Brother-owned land, the majority of which is located west of Clewiston surrounding Airglades Airport. The Sugar Hill plan does not, however, include the airport in its scope of development.
The Sugar Hill plan would divide the specified land into six land-use categories: longterm agriculture, employment centers, rural estates, mixed-use suburban, mixed-use urban and natural resource management.
The specifically planned divisions are a required aspect of the sector plan as mandated by state law. As explained by Mark Morton, director of strategic development and planning for U.S. Sugar, sector plans allow one or more landowners to take an holistic approach towards future development of large-scale areas of land. Sector plans are “very big picture,” he said.
The Sugar Hill plan is based on a 46-year time period, within which U.S. Sugar and Hilliard Brothers hope to attract new people and businesses to Hendry County by developing the land according to the six land-use categories.
The longterm agriculture division would maintain Hendry County’s agricultural efforts and consist of roughly 14,400 acres south of Clewiston and continuing east.
The employment center division would house the industrial and economic development projects that stakeholders hope to attract in the future. The division would be located near Airglades Airport to the west, northwest, northeast, south and southeast.
The mixed-use suburban area would contain housing developments where the community could “work, play and live,” according to Mr, Morton, and would be located south of the employment centers near the airport.
The mixed-use urban area would also contain housing developments, but would be located just west of Clewiston abutting the city limits.
The rural estates division would also provide areas for housing units, set at least one acre apart from each other.
Finally, the natural resource management areas would contain small patches of native plant species, including cypress trees and cabbage palms, intended to preserve the integrity of Florida’s land.
It is precisely this aspect of the project that has some groups worried about the effects of the plan’s implementation.
Julianne Thomas, who spoke on behalf of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, said she was concerned about Everglades Restoration efforts and was interested in what the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) would have to say, though she admitted she was happy with some aspects of the project.
Rhonda Roth spoke on behalf of the Sierra Club and even accused U.S. Sugar of attempting to inflate land prices before they had an opportunity to sell it the state for Everglades Restoration.
Mr. Morton said the project’s intent was to raise Hendry County to the highest level of fiscal health.
Hearing all public comments, county commissioners voted to approve the transmittal of the sector plan to the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), with a motion made by Commissioner Don Davis and a second by Commissioner Mike Swindle.
Once in the hands of the DEO, it will be sent to several other agencies and may undergo more changes before being sent to Tallahassee for approval. Some of the agencies who will vet the project include the SFWMD and the Department of Environmental Protection.
If the plan continues to progress, stakeholders hope to have it adopted by the end of the year.

140827-a
Big wins elusive for EPA in Clean Water Act showdowns
EEnews.net – by Jeremy P. Jacobs, E&E reporter
August 27, 2014
For U.S. EPA at the Supreme Court, it's been the best of times -- and the worst.
In Clean Air Act cases, EPA is on a roll. The high court last term upheld a major EPA program for air pollution that drifts across state lines. It also barely trimmed a permitting program for greenhouse gases, leaving intact most of EPA's first round of climate regulations.
And even when EPA has technically lost, as in the landmark 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA climate case, the justices ruled for the more environmentally protective side -- in that case, that EPA is empowered to regulate greenhouse gases.
But it's a different story when the Clean Water Act is in play. The agency hasn't won a case broadening its regulatory authority since 1985.
There have been nine water cases at the high court, with seven hinging on EPA or Army Corps of Engineers policies. The agencies have technically won in five cases, with four seen as opposed to greater environmental protections, such as the 2013 ruling upholding EPA's position that discharges from logging roads don't require permits.
The big 1985 win -- United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes -- was a unanimous ruling in a Michigan permitting case that bolstered federal power over interstate wetlands. But the impact of that ruling has since been blunted by other Supreme Court wetlands cases.
The agency's record in water cases looms large as EPA works to finalize its "waters of the United States" proposal, which aims to clarify which streams, bogs, swamps and marshes fall within the agency's regulatory jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.
EPA has said it will finalize the regulations in the next year in what would be one of President Obama's landmark environmental rules.
With the stakes high, lawyers are already talking about legal assaults on the proposed regulations.
The new EPA Clean Water Act rule proposal comes after two recent Supreme Court cases limited federal jurisdiction over wetlands and waterways, including the confusing 2006 decision in Rapanos v. United States.
Rapanos broke down along familiar lines -- four conservatives ruled against the agency's jurisdiction, while four liberals upheld it -- and Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court's usual swing voter, tried to strike a balance.
But Kennedy provided little help for EPA. He failed to define clearly which bodies of water qualify for federal oversight, spurring jokes by environmentalists that a navigable water is whatever Kennedy thinks it is.
The Rapanos ruling highlights several reasons EPA has struggled in water cases but thrived under the Clean Air Act, including the water law's vague, undefined terms and property rights aspects that are easier for the justices to grasp than esoteric air pollution metrics.
And Kennedy set up a new criterion for EPA in which a wetland or isolated stream must have a "significant nexus" to a traditional navigable body in order to qualify for the act's protections.
How well EPA parses Kennedy's reasoning could determine the fate of its new proposal, should a challenge make its way to the high court in three or four years, and should Kennedy -- who is 78 years old -- still be on the bench at that time.
"All of this debate over the waters of the United States rule and the anticipated litigation is going to be about what did one justice on the Supreme Court mean when he defined 'significant nexus,'" said Thomas Lorenzen, a former environmental lawyer at the Department of Justice who is now practicing at Dorsey & Whitney, referring to language in Kennedy's opinion.
"Everyone is trying to guess what Justice Kennedy meant, and it's not necessarily connected to statutory language."
Water law 'doesn't tell you very much'
Rapanos centered on whether filling in Michigan wetlands required a Clean Water Act permit because they qualified as navigable under the law. Kennedy disagreed with both the conservatives and liberals, but ultimately ruled against EPA.
Kennedy acknowledged that the law was vague, but he didn't define "navigable."
"Congress' choice of words creates difficulties, for the Act contemplates regulation of certain 'navigable waters' that are not in fact navigable," Kennedy wrote. "Nevertheless, the word 'navigable' in the Act must be given some effect."
The opinion highlighted the first problem in Clean Water Act litigation for EPA -- the law itself -- said Richard Schwartz, a veteran environmental attorney at Crowell & Moring.
The act "doesn't tell you very much," he said. "It refers to navigable waters and defines them as waters of the United States. But there are so many possible variations of facts, and the Clean Water Act says so little that there is just so much room for disputes."
And unlike the water law, Lorenzen added, the Clean Air Act provides clear definitions of important terms like "public health" and "welfare," which are critical for justifying air rules.
The Clean Water Act also isn't as complex as the air law, making air cases harder for judges to fully comprehend in the short time they have to decide a case. In those instances, they are more likely to accept EPA's expertise and legal argument.
"That makes it quite difficult for courts to feel confident when they adjudicate," said Tim Bishop of Mayer Brown, who has argued multiple water cases at the Supreme Court.
Consequently, he added, "the courts are giving a fair amount of leeway to the Clean Air Act these days."
That was apparent last term, when the court upheld EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, or CSAPR. The regulation applies to 28 Eastern states, requiring upwind states to cut emissions that contribute to downwind states exceeding air standards.
CSAPR is the definition of a complex regulatory regime. Some states, for example, may contribute more to pollution in a state they don't neighbor than one they do. Others may be both upwind and downwind states.
In deciding the case, the Supreme Court opted not to wade into the program's technical aspects and deferred to EPA's consideration of costs in deciding how much states must cut emissions (Greenwire, April 29).
The case illustrated the type of high-profile issue the Supreme Court likes to take on, Bishop said, as well as the complexities of air regulations.
"These are sexy, exciting issues, and you can see why the court wants to get in there," he said. "But once it gets a full record in front of it and starts looking at what the opinion would look like, there is a fear on the court that this is not the time to tie the agency's hands too tightly."
Picking sympathetic plaintiffs
Another major hurdle for EPA in the jurisdictional water cases has been the nature of the challenges.
In the air cases, EPA has faced broad facial challenges to its regulations or policies.
The three jurisdictional water cases at the Supreme Court have instead focused on narrow cases involving how the government's policy applies to a specific body of water or wetland. All three -- Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. Army Corps of Engineers (or SWANCC), United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes and Rapanos -- have focused on federal jurisdiction of small, isolated wetlands.
But while those specific wetland tracts may appear inconsequential, the outcomes of the cases have affected the entire regulatory reach of the Clean Water Act.
In those and other Supreme Court water cases, including those involving enforcement, EPA typically faces facts and circumstances that are stacked against it. That's no accident.
James Banks, former head of the Natural Resources Defense Council's water program, who is now in private practice, said lawyers purposely seek out the best plaintiffs in the water law challenges.
"Many of these cases were chosen by lawyers to make a precedent and change the law or the agency's direction," said Banks, who now represents clients including the American Farm Bureau at Hogan Lovells. "They show up in court with the best facts anyone can find."
In Sackett v. EPA, for example, an Idaho couple trying to build a house on Priest Lake received a compliance order from EPA saying they were violating the Clean Water Act by filling in wetlands on the property.
They sought to challenge the order in court, claiming that their land wasn't a wetland. EPA countered that such orders are not judicially reviewable until a formal enforcement action begins. The agency has historically relied on compliance orders -- which carry a fine of up to $37,500 per day -- to encourage landowners to quickly come into compliance.
Lower courts sided with EPA, but the Supreme Court unanimously lined upwith the Sacketts, ruling that they may challenge EPA's reasoning for the order in court. The ruling called into question EPA's practice of issuing compliance orders to enforce its policies (Greenwire, March 21, 2012).
Sackett also illustrated how property rights issues are a common thread in water cases, while they are virtually absent from air litigation.
Unlike air cases, water cases often hinge on the federal government placing at times onerous and expensive requirements or restrictions on how an individual may use his or her property.
Bishop said property rights are a typically "huge part" of water cases, and that helps makes them more approachable for judges.
"Those are things you can really grasp," he said.
Big EPA wins in lower courts
While it has struggled at the Supreme Court in water cases, EPA has scored major victories in federal appellate courts, said Vermont Law School professor Pat Parenteau.
"EPA's record on water, in terms of industry challenges, is outstanding," he said. "It's every bit as good as on the air act."
Perhaps the most important is the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' 2003 decision in United States v. Deaton, a ruling that came down after SWANCC and also addressed the jurisdictional issue.
The case hinged on whether discharges into a roadside ditch on the Delmarva Peninsula were covered by the Clean Water Act because, despite being miles from the Chesapeake Bay, it eventually drained into the Wicomico River.
A real estate developer challenged EPA and the Army Corps' jurisdiction over the ditch, but the 4th Circuit upheld it. In so doing, the unanimous three-judge panel interpreted SWANCC narrowly and said the government's 1974 waters of the United States regulations "fit comforably within Congress's authority to regulate navigable waters."
"The regulation, as the Corps reads it, reflects a reasonable interpretation of the Clean Water Act," the court ruled, adding that the law grants jurisdiction over a river's "whole tributary system."
The real estate developer appealed the 4th Circuit's decision to the Supreme Court, which declined to review it.
Parenteau contends that because of the strange vote breakdown -- 4-1-4 -- and various different criteria in Rapanos, the Deaton ruling is the proper holding under which to consider EPA's latest proposal. He also said the scope of EPA's Clean Water Act jurisdiction put forth by the court in Deaton is more expansive than the agency's new proposal.
"It is the base line that should be used to judge EPA's proposed rule," he said. "There was no majority opinion in Rapanos and hence no binding precedent."
Moreover, EPA has also recently fared well at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In the last two years, it has sided with EPA in two industry challenges involving mountaintop-removal coal mining.
The court in April 2013 upheld EPA's retroactive veto of a large West Virginia mining project roughly four years after it was issued by the Army Corps. It was one of the first times EPA had exercised that authority under the Clean Water Act (Greenwire, April 23, 2013).
And in July, the D.C. Circuit upheld two restrictive EPA policies issued shortly after Obama took office that addressed water pollution from mountaintop-removal coal mining (Greenwire, July 11).
In both cases, the D.C. Circuit largely deferred to EPA's interpretation of the law.
But those rulings also highlight another reason EPA has historically fared poorly in Clean Water Act cases: the courts in which they are heard.
The Clean Air Act gives the D.C. Circuit jurisdiction over most lawsuits. But the Clean Water Act allows challengers to file in any circuit.
And other circuits, said Hogan Lovells' Banks, are often less likely to side with the agency.
"You don't get outside the Beltway very often," Banks said of air cases. "The D.C. Circuit ... is more likely to grant deference to the agency than many other circuits."
At the appellate level, the chances for EPA's waters of the United States rule -- once it's finalized -- could be shaped by which circuit hears the case. If several challenges are filed in multiple circuits, which is likely, the circuit that hears the consolidated case is determined by a lottery.
In that scenario, EPA would likely prefer arguments in the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is generally friendly to the agency. It would like to avoid others, including the St. Louis-based 8th Circuit, which has historically been more hostile.
Where the case is tried also has important ramifications for the Supreme Court.
"Which court it lands in could have a profound effect on how much deference EPA gets and how the case is framed as it goes to the Supreme Court," said Lorenzen, the former DOJ attorney.
Chief Justice Roberts offers 'generous leeway'
While Kennedy's Rapanos opinion and its "significant nexus" test are sure to play major roles in any legal challenge to EPA's waters of the United States rule, the agency's supporters point to another part of that decision that typically gets less attention.
In a short concurrence, Chief Justice John Roberts all but dared EPA to craft the type of rule it has recently proposed.
He said EPA didn't issue a jurisdictional rule after the court's 2001 ruling in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. Army Corps.
If it had, Roberts wrote, EPA would have gotten "generous leeway" from the court.
"Given the broad, somewhat ambiguous, but nonetheless clearly limiting terms Congress employed in the Clean Water Act," Roberts wrote, "the Corps and the EPA would have enjoyed plenty of room to operate in developing some notion of an outer bound to the reach of their authority."
Jon Devine of the Natural Resources Defense Council said EPA seems to have done just that, and it appears to have addressed Kennedy's "significant nexus" test by relying on science underlying hydrological connections to establish its jurisdiction.
"I think it's an open-and-shut case," Devine said. "The agency is going to be entitled to a lot of deference in how they determine what waters need to remain protected."
However, Roberts isn't necessarily beholden to those words if he does find something objectionable in EPA's rule, should a challenge reach his court.
And, nevertheless, most court watchers insist that the agency's focus shouldn't stray from Kennedy.
"As long as the court's makeup doesn't change," Lorenzen said, "this is all going to be a play for Justice Kennedy."

140827-b
Corps adjusts target flows from Lake Okeechobee to Caloosahatchee
US-ACE release
August 27, 2014
FLOW DATA
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District will adjust the target flows to the Caloosahatchee River as part of its efforts to slow the rise in water levels at Lake Okeechobee. The new target flow to the Caloosahatchee Estuary is a 10-day average of 1,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) as measured at W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam (S-79) near Fort Myers.  However, this change will likely have little impact as local runoff  into the Caloosahatchee River has regularly exceeded this target in recent days.  Runoff will continued to be allowed to pass through Franklin as necessary.
The target flow for the St. Lucie Lock and Dam (S-80) is unchanged at 0 cfs, although local basin runoff from the St. Lucie Canal (C-44) will continue to be allowed to pass through the St. Lucie Lock as has been the case for much of the past month.  
"The increased target flow to the west allows us to release lake water when the opportunity presents itself while attempting to keep discharge rates below the high-flow harm threshold of 2,800 cfs at S-79 (Franklin Lock)," said Lt. Col. Tom Greco, Jacksonville District Deputy Commander for South Florida. 
Today, the lake stage is   currently in the Operational Low Sub-Band of the Corps' water control plan, the 2008 Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS).   In the Low Sub-Band, under current conditions, LORS authorizes the Corps to discharge 3,000 cfs to the Caloosahatchee and 1,170 cfs to the St. Lucie. 
"The lake is a foot-and-a-half lower than it was at this point last year, however it has continued to rise for over a month and has risen over a quarter foot just in the last week," said Greco.  "The target adjustment is appropriate given current and forecasted conditions although we will continue to monitor conditions and make adjustments as necessary based on LORS guidance."
For information on water level and flows data for Lake Okeechobee, visit the water management web page at http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/WaterManagement.aspx

140827-c
County, Audubon approve settlement
AroundOsceloa.com - by Ken Jackson, Staff Writer
August 27, 2014
The Osceola County Commission approved a settlement with Audubon Florida last week that resolves the conservation group’s objections to changes county staff made to the Conservation Element of its Comprehensive Plan in April.
It also avoids a possible lawsuit over the changes.
As part of the agreement, the county will modify eight policies that were part of revisions to the plan commissioners initially approved April 21. The Audubon Society opposed those changes to environmentally sensitive land areas and
animal species.
Charles Lee, Audubon’s Florida’s director of advocacy, said in a petition filed in May that the changes did away with the major conservation protections in the Conservation Element “that had been seen as a model for conservation in the state of Florida.”
The society disputed the county’s claims that even with the changes, the Conservation Element provided “meaningful and predictable standards providing for the conservation, use and protection of natural resources in Osceola County.”
That petition, which in general said there were no guidelines ensuring air quality and that of the water flowing southward toward the Everglades, also requested an administrative hearing to determine if the revisions complied with state law and all other county covenants.
Lee said the latest round of negotiations went as well as could be hoped.
“County staff wanted move policies into the hands of ordinances, but the law requires they remain in the Plan. I think they made the right decision,” he said. “The additional changes Osceola County agreed to make in the plan fully resolve our concerns.”
The county’s rationale for the changes was that the guidelines were already covered by other state regulation agencies, and they “ensure consistency with other Elements of the Comprehensive Plan and Florida Statutes.”
According to the settlement agreement, the county still disputes the allegations of the Audubon petition regarding the revisions’ compliance with state law, but the parties agreed to avoid the time and monetary expense
of litigation.
“I was not present, but my reports are it was a positive settlement,” County Attorney Andrew Mai said. “Both sides were in agreement on what the final result should be.”
Among the new provisions of the latest changes to the Conservation Element of the Comprehensive Plan include:
Ensuring proper buffers between high impact developments and significant natural resources, especially those outside the Urban Growth Boundary, which marks where the county will manage the master plan for future development; enacting strict guidelines for the alteration and removal of wetlands; recognizing the longleaf pine/turkey oak, sand pine scrub and dry prairie as sensitive species; ensuring ecological evaluations will be performed where new development is proposed unless environmentally sensitive areas are not identified on the property.
Commissioner Frank Attkisson said the changes form a better structure for policies, plans and ordinances that provide Osceola County with the finest environmental protection in the state.
“We never intended to back away from this commitment,” he said. “The county has a strong history of preserving its heritage and its environmental gems, and we appreciate the relationship we have had with Audubon Florida, which made this decision easy.”
Board Chairman Fred Hawkins said the changes show the county’s commitment to protecting its environmentally sensitive spaces and habitats.
“While the county believes it is within the law to maintain the level of detail in its regulations without the level of detail in the Comprehensive Plan, the Settlement changes are consistent with the County’s continued commitment,” he said.
Lee said that after this recent positive dialogue with the county, Audubon hopes to work closely together on other environmental protection, including creating space for an Everglades National Headwaters preserve.

140827-d
Wilderness Act has big impact on Everglades
KeysNews.com – by Robert Silk, Free Press Staff
August 27, 2014
Wilderness Act, protector of Everglades, celebrates 50th year.
In 1964, as President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, he declared it to be among "the most far-reaching conservation measures that a far-sighted nation has ever coped with."
Now, as the Wilderness Act turns 50 on Sept. 3, Florida Bay and the Everglades have become two of its largest beneficiaries.
In 1978, Congress created the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness within Everglades National Park. The move accomplished the dual purpose of honoring Douglas, the iconic champion of Everglades preservation, and providing the United States' strongest environmentally protected status to 1.3 million acres of the park, including the submerged seagrass and mudflats of the Florida Bay bottom. Habitats of sawgrass, mangroves, cypress, pines and hammock are all protected under the Wilderness Act.
In fact, South Florida's wilderness area encompasses 86 percent of Everglades National Park and is the largest such area east of the Rockies.
As the 1964 Wilderness Act elegantly states, wilderness is "recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor."
The designation, though, goes well beyond symbolic. The wilderness areas of the Everglades, as well the other 108 million acres of federally protected wilderness in the United States, enjoy important protections from man-made changes that even other areas within the national park system do not. Those areas, proponents say, provide individuals with opportunities for solitude, adventure and for viewing wildlife in its natural, unfettered environment.
With only minimal exceptions -- for example, sign posts affixed to the Florida Bay bottom -- it takes an act of Congress to alter wilderness areas. That means park administators can't build amenities such as boardwalks or roadways in designated wilderness. And they can't open those areas to environmentally unfriendly activities, such as airboat use.
But benefits, especially within an imperiled ecosystem like the Everglades, go beyond the recreational, said John Adornato, who heads the South Florida office of the National Parks Conservation Association. He noted that the vast marshes of Everglades National Park are areas where water is naturally cleansed before seeping back into the aquifers that are the source of the region's freshwater supply.
"Wilderness in the Everglades provides for an amazing repository of resources and wildlife that could be diminished if it were managed in a different way," Adornato said.
The Everglades National Park wilderness also functions as "an important line of defense against the devastating winds of tropical storms, and an indispensable nursery ground for marine species of recreational and commercial importance," a National Park Service primer says.
But as the Wilderness Act turns 50, some people are questioning whether it should be updated for modern times.
In an op-ed in The New York Times last month, environmental journalist Christopher Solomon argued that more active management could well be desirable in at least some wilderness areas in order to forestall the transformative effects of climate change.
Notably, he wrote, the very underpinning of the Wilderness Act, the notion that nature exists "in some unadulterated state apart from humans," is largely outdated. Scientists have become acutely aware over the past five decades that man has been shaping ecosystems for thousands of years and that the natural world is in a constant state of transformation.
The Everglades is particularly susceptible to the impacts of global warming. Recent studies have shown that mangroves are expanding their territory in low-lying coastal regions as rising seawater diminishes the abundance of less salt-tolerant plants.
In an interview last week, Greg Aplet, senior science director for Washington, D.C.-based The Wilderness Society, said his organization doesn't dispute that actively managing a variety of natural systems is an approach that must be considered in the face of climate change.
But he argued that the more than 80 percent of federal public land that is not designated as wilderness is where such strategies should be employed. Wilderness areas, he said, should be left to their own devices.
"Our position is that we need more wilderness because we need more areas where we can apply the strategy of keeping hands off and letting nature decide what will be," Aplet said.
Adornato said there's room for debate about how humans can best attempt to preserve wild areas in the face of climate change. But he praised the Everglades' wilderness designation on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.
"It's the highest level of protection that any federal lands can be granted," he said. "That's worth something. In fact, it's worth quite a lot."

140826-a
FIU and South Florida Water Management District partner to study nitrogen in Caloosahatchee River
WGCU.org – Topher Forhecz
August 26, 2014
The South Florida Water Management District is teaming up with Florida International University to study nitrogen in the Caloosahatchee River.
The study will examine the interplay between nitrogen and a range of naturally-occurring bacteria in the water.
South Florida Water Management District senior scientist Cassondra Thomas said previous testing showed most of the nitrogen in the Caloosahatchee is in a form called organic nitrogen. She said bacteria has a tougher time with this type of nitrogen.
“Some forms of organic nitrogen include DNA, ammonic acids,” she said. “So, they’re a lot more complex, they’re bigger molecules and it takes a lot more to break them down.”
Florida International University researchers will take water samples along the Caloosahatchee to see what the bacteria does with the nitrogen.
The study is one component of the District’s plan to develop a new type of what are called Stormwater Treatment Areas or STA’s. STA’s are wetlands designed to remove nutrients from the water that flows through it.
Water managers had success crafting STA’s that remove phosphorous. Now, they’re focusing on nitrogen. Nitrogen is a fertilizer that can lead to algal blooms.
The study will cost $200,000 and is expected to last until early 2016.

140826-b
Florida Governor Rick Scott meets with climate scientists, learns nothing
desmogBlog.com – by Farron Cousins
August 26, 2014
Republican Florida governor Rick Scott has always had a huge problem when it comes to the environment.  To begin with, he has repeatedly made it clear that he does not believe in climate change, and certainly not the role that human beings play in exacerbating the problem. 
But, facing a fierce opponent with a stellar environmental record in this year’s gubernatorial race, Scott has had to swallow his pride and open up to the idea that he is wrong on climate change.
Governor Scott recently met with prominent climate scientists from universities with the expressed goal of learning all that he could about climate change.  The truth, however, is that the entire experience was more of a publicity stunt than a science lesson.
According to the scientists, at least half of the thirty-minute meeting was spent with Scott asking questions about the scientists’ education, classes they teach, and various other “small talk” questions.  This left them only 15 minutes to explain the science behind anthropogenic climate change to the inattentive governor.
Think Progress, via Reader Supported News, has more:
Ben Kirtman professor of atmospheric science at the University of Miami, told ThinkProgress. “I don’t honestly believe the governor is climate literate, and I don’t think he is particularly interested in becoming climate literate.”
David Hastings, professor of marine science and chemistry at Eckerd College, told ThinkProgress that he thought the governor’s decision to take up “almost half” the meeting with small talk showed that he wasn’t truly interested in the meeting.
“If we were talking about things that he was sincerely interested in, that small talk would have been very short,” he said.
They also note that during the entire meeting, Scott did not ask a single climate change-related question.
Scott had previously refused to meet with scientists to discuss the issue of climate change, but now that he is locked in a heated battle to retain his governorship, he appears to be more willing to give the public the appearance of action.
Recently, Scott announced his plan to invest more money towards environmental projects in the state of Florida if he is re-elected.  And as a Think Progress article pointed out, Scott can use all of the help he can get to convince the public that he actually cares about the environment:
…as the Tampa Bay Times points out, the governor’s new plan runs contradictory to the governor’s previous actions and statements on environmental issues. For instance, the paper notes, Scott vetoed the $305 million annual funding for Florida Forever in 2011. The paper also notes that Scott’s funding for springs restoration is slated to be parceled out over 10 years, which extends the plan past his second term in office, leaving it to the mercy of whatever governor might come after him. The plan also doesn’t explicitly mention the threat climate change poses to Florida, a state that’s particularly vulnerable to sea level rise.
The plan also comes after Scott received criticism for a secret hunting trip he took to U.S. Sugar Corp’s King Lodge, as well as the $534,000 in contributions he’s accepted from the sugar company. Sugar cane fields are a major source of the phosphorus pollution that flows into the Everglades, which can lead to algal blooms that reduce the oxygen levels in the wetlands. The sugar industry in Florida has been accused of skirting payments to help clean up the phosphorus pollution in the Everglades, a move that several environmental groups say has passed an increased percentage of the cost of cleaning up the wetlands to taxpayers.
Scott’s environmental blind spot goes far beyond campaign donations and outings with Big Sugar. 
Since becoming governor in 2010, Scott has made one wrong decision after another for Florida’s environment.  To begin with, one of his first acts as governor was his refusal to join a multi-state lawsuit against oil giant BP for their role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster.  Public backlash forced the governor to rethink his position on that matter.
Then you have the evidence of Scott’s budget cuts to environmental protection in the state.  Since taking office, Scott’s administration has significantly cut funding for the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, rolled back tax funding of water management, and completely dismantled the Department of Community Affairs, a group that dealt specifically with local environmental concerns. 
The financial cuts to environmental projects totaled more than $305 million in his first year in office alone.
Scott’s enforcement of environmental penalties is just as bad.  Environmental investigations reported more than 2,000 environmental infractions on behalf of companies and individuals the year before Scott took office.  That number has since dropped to fewer than 150 a year, a move that Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) says is due to Scott’s administration failing to perform environmental reviews.
The scientists that Scott met with are spot on in their assessment that he does not care about climate change.  Regardless of what the photo ops want us to believe, Scott’s actions show that this man is no friend to the environment.

140826-c
Red tide still lingers off coast of Hernando County
Hernando Today
August 26, 2014
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
A large bloom of red tide continues to linger about 20 miles off the coast of Hernando County.
Satellite images from the Optical Oceanography Laboratory at the University of South Florida showed a patchy bloom at least 20 miles offshore between Dixie and northern Pinellas counties in northwest and southwest Florida. FWC’s Fish Kill Hotline has received numerous reports of a widespread fish kill.
Karenia brevis, the organism known as red tide, was detected in background concentrations in one water sample analyzed from offshore of Walton County and background to medium concentrations in the bloom area offshore of Dixie, Levy, Citrus, and Hernando Counties. In addition, Karenia brevis was detected in background to very low concentrations in eight samples collected in, and alongshore of, Pinellas and Sarasota counties. No bloom concentrations of red tide have been detected alongshore or inshore of any of the areas sampled.
Forecasts by the Collaboration for Prediction of Red Tides show water movement proceeding south and slightly away from the coast for the next several days.
Additional samples collected throughout Florida this week did not contain the Florida red tide, Karenia brevis.

140826-d
Restoring Everglades water flow is key for South Florida
WLRN.org - by Luis Hernandez
August 26
Every few years we get a snapshot of the health of the Everglades in the System Status Report, which was released earlier this month. It shows improvement in the restoration of animal habitat, but there’s still a lot of work to do in getting more water to flow south.
Read a conversation with Julie Hill-Gabriel, the director of Everglades policy for Audubon Florida, about the update.
It was 14 years ago when state and federal politicians vowed to restore the Everglades. It was 2000 when the Everglades Restoration Plan was born. Briefly remind us what that plan was supposed to do.
So what happened is, around the turn of the last century in order to accommodate agricultural production and commercial and real estate development for people to live here, we drained and blocked that natural water flow within the Everglades. Almost as soon as that was finished, we started to see the negative implications of that.
So Everglades Restoration was brought together as an initiative to, as much as possible, bring back the historic flow of water, and it’s the largest ecosystem restoration project in the world.
And have we kept that promise? Is this plan actually doing that ?
Well things are probably developing slower than we had hoped. We have really seen some significant progress particularly over the last five years. We do have projects that are underway.
We have a few that are completed, actually, including one in south Miami-Dade where we’re filling in the C-111 canal, what it’s called, these exciting names. But, essentially filling in a canal that was initially dredged and dug to transport rocket ships to a Port Canaveral-type facility in the Everglades that never came to be.
But already, when we start doing these things and trying to return the conditions to more historic flow patterns, we start to see the ecosystem respond. We’re seeing fish respond, and then in turn we are starting to see things like birds and habitat changes.
The issue of climate change and sea level rise is an important topic for folks in South Florida, especially those living along the coasts, but we don’t talk much about climate change and its impact to the Everglades. How is it impacting the Everglades ?
Well I think that there are two sides to that coin. No. 1 is that we know that the Everglades, just as all of us in South Florida, have an additional threat from sea level rise and salt water intrusion.
But in the other hand one of the biggest solutions that we have is restoring the Everglades. When you recreate that north to south flow it’s probably the primary tool we have to push off the rising seas and push off the saltwater from coming in.
There was really interesting maps developed by the agencies that show South Florida with or without Everglades restoration. And the without is a very scary sight for anyone who lives here. And with restoration we’re enabling the ecosystem to adapt but also recharging our own water supply and keeping some of that seawater at bay.
Looking at the report, what does it say about where we are in Everglades restoration?
I think we've made significant progress, but we need to make more and we need to do it faster than we have been.
When you say faster, though, what does that mean?
Well, one of the primary challenges we’ve had is that this is a joint funding program between the state and the federal government. Each are responsible for 50 percent. And while the state has been able to invest significant amounts of funding, it’s been that much more difficult to get that from the federal government. So the failure of pieces of legislation that allow new projects to start has really been the number one cause of delay.

140825-a
Killing alligators in a wildlife refuge ?
Care2.com – by Diane MacEachern
August 25, 2014
Alligators are fierce and terrifying carnivores. They’re also fascinating animals that have been around since prehistoric times, playing a distinct and important role in the swampy ecosystems where they live.
Wildlife supporters and biologists want to keep alligators protected, which they have been as long as they’ve been on national wildlife refuges. But recently, the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge became the first refuge in the national system to allow recreational alligator hunting. Hunters are celebrating, but animal lovers are up in arms.
In fact, a Care2 member has started a petition drive to pressure the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages our federal refuges, to stop the alligator hunt. You can get more information here.
Objections to the hunt focus primarily on the cruelty of it. Hunters can stalk the gators from the safety of boats and armed with something called a “bangstick.” That’s a pole that shoots a shotgun pellet or bullet into the animal’s brain. Though the shot might immobilize the creature, it may not kill it instantly, subjecting it to inhumane pain and torture until it dies. Advocates of hunting claim that the alligator population needs to be controlled. Plus, many hunters view the dead animals as trophies, and either stuff them from head to toe, or cut off their head to mount for display.
However, animal welfare supporters note that alligators are an “umbrella” or “keystone” species in the refuge. In other words, they are at the top of the food chain and provide an important biological link, not just in Loxahatchee, but in 150,000 acres of the northern Everglades ecosystem. Plus, thousands of people come to the refuge and the Everglades every year to get a glimpse of these remarkable gators. I’ve been there myself, and I can tell you, it is truly exciting to see an alligator in the wild.
Alligators are already widely hunted outside refuges, not only to make trophies, but also for their skin, which is  turned into leather for purses, shoes, belts, and boots, and meat. The animals are also being negatively affected by climate change as a substantial percentage of the freshwater habitat they depend on becomes increasingly contaminated by salt or brackish water brought on by sea level rise. Warming waters also are starting to affect the ability of alligators to reproduce. Like many other reptiles, the eggs alligators lay are very susceptible to the temperature of the water they’re laid in. As water heats up, the eggs are more likely to turn into males than females, upsetting the balance of nature that could lead to a decline in alligator populations.
The Care2 petition is hoping to collect 1,000 signatures on a petition urging the US. Fish and Wildlife Service to reverse its decision to allow alligator hunting in Loxahatchee or elsewhere. Sign the petition and share it on Facebook and Twitter to spread the word.

140824-a
Hendry County hard hit by dependence on sugar
Associated Press – by Jeff Harrington, Tampa Bay Times
August 24, 2014
CLEWISTON, Fla. (AP) — Beyond the relentless fields of sugar cane stalks, past the sign heralding Clewiston as "America's Sweetest City," just south of a cluster of aged mobile homes and modest ranch-style houses sits the weather-worn Lighthouse Apostolic Church.
Above a church notice offering Escuela Domingo (Sunday school) is another placard urging passers-by to "FROG — Fully Rely on God."
In his office down the road, Hendry County Commissioner Karson Turner is preaching a more active course. Hendry, he says, is struggling from a dependency problem akin to an alcoholic. For far too long, it has relied on farming — and dominant employer U.S. Sugar Corp. in particular — to prop up its economy. A 2005 study tied 74 cents of every dollar in Hendry's economy to agriculture.
"We can't bite the hand that feeds us, so to speak, because ag has sustained us for years." said Turner. "But until we educate ourselves and recognize there is a 100 percent correlation between your educational prowess, or lack thereof, and your economic potential, or lack thereof, we're not going to get past the status quo."
Here's the sobering status quo: Five years after the official end of the recession, Hendry remains the only one of Florida's 67 counties still mired in double-digit unemployment. Its July jobless rate of 12.5 percent is not only more than 3 percentage points higher than any other county, it's more than double Florida's rate of 6.2 percent.
Efforts are under way across the county to resuscitate Hendry's lagging economy, but change agents are wary of doing anything too radical that would mar a proud agriculture heritage dating back nearly a century.
It would be tempting to simply label this 1,100-square-mile central Florida territory on the southern banks of Lake Okeechobee as the county that Florida's economic recovery left behind.
But Hendry's problems go beyond the Great Recession.
For decades, its jobless rate repeatedly spikes during summer months into the teens and higher — topping 25 percent at one point in the 1990s. Seasonal swings are the nature of an agriculture-based economy where migrant workers come and go. And there has been some improvement, with Hendry briefly falling below 10 percent unemployment earlier this year.
What troubles some of Hendry's civic and political leaders is that other indicators of economic angst have worsened.
Standardized test scores have fallen and reliance on government aid has risen throughout the "recovery." More than 80 percent of Hendry students in K-12 public schools were eligible for free and reduced-price lunches in the 2012-2013 academic year, up from 70 percent four years earlier. Nearly a third of residents are below poverty level.
With no new homes being built, economic development leaders are frustrated they can't convince people to move here even if they win any business relocations.
Hendry's population shrunk by more than 4 percent from 2010 to 2013 while Florida's overall population was growing by 4 percent. A consultant's report hinted at a big reason: 60 percent of residents who secure bachelor's degrees or higher do not return after graduation.
"It used to be when people would leave they'd come back," said Billy McDonald, 62, who recently retired after 39 years as a lineman for the city of Clewiston's electric department. "You don't see that any more. Once they're gone, they're gone."
Hendry could have been in far worse shape.
In 2008, Florida announced the largest land sale in the state's history — a $1.75 billion plan to buy nearly 300 square miles of Everglades land owned by U.S. Sugar. Reclaiming the famed wetlands for restoration was trumpeted at the time as similar to the establishment of the first national park, Yellowstone. It would effectively have put U.S. Sugar out of business, albeit in a comfortable financial position.
The deal never went through. A worsening economy and political opposition prompted state officials to settle for a much smaller parcel.
The whole episode, say several of Hendry's leaders, served as a much-needed wakeup call.
Along with a new county administrator, Hendry brought in a new school superintendent not afraid to shake things up and has begun to improve both the county's economic mix and educational institutions. "There's a mindset in leadership that we can't go with the status quo," said Charles Chapman, who moved from Tallahassee to become Hendry's county administrator 18 months ago.
The dilemma is how much, and how fast, the county can evolve when many residents appear resistant to change and negative talk about agriculture is a conversational third rail.
Gregg Gillman, president of the Hendry County Economic Development Council, prefaces every discussion about the need to diversify with a nod to agriculture's importance. "We celebrate the heck out of agriculture here," he says. "That's who we are and that's what got us where we are. But we need to do better."
Hendry is on the right path, Gillman insists, even if it doesn't show up yet statistically. Over the past year, the county has announced four projects that will eventually add another 250 permanent jobs, including turning an abandoned state prison into a military training site and building a biomass gasification plant.
Pockets of tourism have been reinvigorated, including the ever-expanding Roland & Mary Ann Martins Marina & Resort, which has earned a global reputation and attracts thousands of anglers eager to fish for oversized bass in Lake Okeechobee.
The biggest economic hope on the horizon is AirGlades Airport, the former Riddle Field in central Hendry, which was recently certified by the FAA as the only privately owned international airport in the United States. The goal is to refashion AirGlades into a major hub for cargo, siphoning off some shipments now sent to Miami and then using U.S. Sugar's rail line to move the freight by land. Someday, Hendry hopes it can become a major destination point for South American flowers.
Never in his 73 years here has Clewiston Mayor Phillip Roland been more excited about the economic future: "If the airport happens, it fixes this area for the next century. It will be for us what Disney World was to Orlando."
If it happens, that dream could be 10 to 20 years away.
For now, Hendry is seizing on smaller victories with outsized enthusiasm. When BioNitrogen Holdings Corp. revealed plans in May to build a $300 million plant outside of Clewiston — creating 250 short-term construction jobs and about 55 long-term jobs — Gillman proclaimed the news a "mega, mega-economic development announcement for the county."
Higher-paying jobs like those promised by BioNitrogen appear to be the exception.
Asked about recent business additions in town, Clewiston Chamber of Commerce executive director Electa Waddell cited a few restaurants, a paint store and a new bail bondsman.
"There seems to be a lot of low-paying jobs here, unless you work at the sugar mill," said Paula Stangret, who moved from northern Wisconsin to Clewiston five years ago.
Most of Hendry's 40,000 residents live in unincorporated rural patches of the county, growing sweet corn, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, squash — along with sugar and citrus. On the county's southern edge is the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation.
The only two towns — Clewiston (pop. 7,000) and LaBelle (pop. 4,500) — sit on opposite corners, tethered by a 30-mile stretch of State Road 80.
In LaBelle, most shops and restaurants have been around for years, said Charlie Harris, 28, who owns the Bridge Street Coffee & Tea shop, better-known to locals as Charlie's Place.
In a town where everyone knows everyone, "it makes it difficult for a newbie to take hold," said Harris, whose family has lived in the area for "three or four generations, depending on which side of the family."
"Life around here revolves around family and faith and work and football," said Judy Sanchez, U.S. Sugar senior director of corporate communications and proud mom of a high school football player who went on to play at Stanford University and sign with the Oakland Raiders.
No one wants to lose that small-town feel. No one wants to lose the agricultural identity of a place that boasts "arguably the most fertile farming land in the world," as stated on a plaque at the Clewiston Museum.
No one wants to minimize the role sugar plays, from the springtime Clewiston Sugar Festival to the Sugarland Highway winding through the city's downtown by Sugar Realty and Clewiston Middle School's Cane Field.
"We know who we are. We're not trying to be Silicon Valley. . We're not trying to be Naples," said Chapman, the county administrator. "We don't want to lose our rural senses; we don't want to lose Mayberry. We want to take our blue-collar roots and take it to the next level."
Yet being dominated by a single industry has clearly taken a toll.
There are more orange groves in Hendry than any other Florida county, and citrus has been devastated by greening, a pest-driven disease that has infected at least 70 percent of Florida's citrus trees. The other dominant crop, sugar, is battling severely depressed prices that the industry blames on Mexico dumping cheap sugar into the country.
U.S. Sugar promises to keep its headquarters in Clewiston, a pledge backed up by investing more than half a billion dollars when it combined two milling operations into a larger, modernized complex that opened in late 2007. "We now have the world's largest fully integrated sugar cane processing, milling and refining facility," said Sanchez.
The company's modernization has been a mixed blessing. Being more efficient and paring back production means fewer jobs. In 1999, U.S. Sugar employed more than 3,000; now 1,700 work there.
In the 1990s, there were four people in Sanchez's public affairs department, offering public tours and educational outreach. Now she shares an assistant.
As a private company, U.S. Sugar doesn't disclose financial details. But Sanchez acknowledges "there have been years in the past decade when we have not made money and we have not paid dividends to shareholders. It happened in the recent past."
U.S. Sugar is proud of Clewiston's moniker as a "company town," recognizing its civic obligations by taking a prominent role in everything from funding a new downtown playground to promoting the AirGlades transformation. But Sanchez balks at the notion that Big Sugar is able to handle all the requests for help that flow its way.
Karson Turner's family business, Quality Electric, has done electrical work on bridges from Jacksonville to Boca Raton. Less than 1 percent of its business is in Hendry in most years, and persuading new hires to move here is "a hard sell," he concedes.
Yet, the county commissioner would never entertain leaving. "We love saying we have roots at home," he said.
Others made similar commitments. Like local pharmacist Haitham Kaki, who runs K&M Drugs. And Clewiston city manager Al Perry. Mainstays like First Bank and the Langford family, which runs a local Ford dealership, are ingrained in the community.
But that's not enough to turn things around.
There needs to be a countywide buy-in to diversify the economy, an overhaul that could take a generation, Turner said. That's not happening yet, not based on conversations he's had with other residents that go something like this:
"I say, 'I'm going to roll my sleeves up and we're going to try to fix this thing.'
'Fix this? You mean there's a problem?'
'Darn right there's a problem.' "
Turner said he fears his community is "100 percent in denial.'"
Chapman points to another obstacle. Many don't want to make dramatic changes if it means friends or acquaintances could lose their positions.
As a relative newcomer, Chapman says he has discovered Hendry is full of "wonderfully nice" people. "There is a downside," he adds. "You can be too nice."

140824-b
Paying the springs bill
Gainesville.com - by Robert L. Knight (Special to The Sun), director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute, a private, nonprofit corporation located in North Florida
August 24, 2014
On July 11, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection provided the 2014-2015 springs' restoration funding project plan to the Legislative Budget Commission.
As expected, the Florida Legislature appropriated $25 million for springs' restoration and the water management districts kicked in an additional $12.8 million of state money. Local governments pledged to spend $31.7 million, for a total of $69.5 million to help ease the hurt at the state's springs.
Combined with last year's pledge of $37 million in state and local funding for "springs restoration," this sounds like a good start. Unfortunately for Florida taxpayers, this is just the tip of the springs-cleanup iceberg that will be required to pull our springs back from the brink of disaster. Lax enforcement of Florida's environmental laws by state regulators has resulted in the need for another multi-billion dollar environmental cleanup painfully reminiscent of the Everglades boondoggle in South Florida.
First, some history of springs' protection efforts in Florida. In 1999, Jim Stevenson, former chief biologist with the Florida Park Service, led Gov. Jeb Bush and DEP Secretary David Struhs on a canoe trip to see firsthand the Ichetucknee springs and river that were being threatened by a cement factory. This momentous trip was a response to strong public opposition to this threat to the springs and aquifer.
After the canoe trip, Jim Stevenson was appointed to organize and chair the Florida Springs Task Force. In 2000, the 16 public and private members of the task force published a report detailing the magnitude and causes of spring impairments and laying out a plan for springs' restoration.
During the next 10 years, the Florida Legislature and Govs. Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist allocated $23 million to the Florida Springs Initiative for springs research and protection projects. That expenditure was augmented by springs-related funding from the St. Johns River and Southwest Florida water management districts. A significant increase in the scientific and public awareness of Florida's springs' crisis was provided by the state's relatively small investment.
After entering office in 2010, Gov. Rick Scott cancelled the Florida Springs Initiative and drastically reduced funding and staff at DEP and all five of Florida's water management districts. By those actions, Gov. Scott and his like-minded Legislature effectively brought all springs' research and restoration efforts to a screeching halt.
Fast forward to last year. Amid another growing outcry from concerned citizens about the springs' tragedy of declining flows and increasing nitrate pollution unfolding throughout North Florida, the Legislature, governor and water management districts made a sudden about-face and once again started funding "springs' restoration." And so this year the ante for springs' restoration projects was raised again by our elected officials.
Like last year, this year's springs' projects were selected behind closed doors by DEP and water management district staffs, with no citizen involvement. No independent springs' task force was formed to develop an overall springs' project plan, quantitative evaluation procedures or adaptive management methodology to verify that this large sum of money will result in measurable benefits at our springs.
While some of this year's proposed projects may indeed help to reduce nutrient and flow impacts at the springs, government planning without public involvement is suspect from the outset. An examination of the springs' restoration projects planned with taxpayer money is needed to separate the springs' "turkeys" from those projects that may actually benefit the public interest.
Most suspect are seven "agricultural" projects on DEP's list that provide taxpayer support to private, for-profit businesses that are harming the public's groundwater and springs. For example, a total of $8.9 million of this year's springs' funding is designated to buy new agricultural irrigation systems. Another $3.6 million is earmarked to subsidize a phosphate company in North Florida that has contributed to reduced flows at White Sulfur Spring for decades. Over $12 million is allocated for providing central sewer hookups to private developments near Wakulla Spring.
The remaining DEP projects include connection of septic tanks to public sewer systems, wastewater treatment plant upgrades and installation of water-efficient toilets and faucets. Hopefully, these projects will provide some true springs' benefits. But the state did not follow a publicly vetted springs' restoration agenda or provide an evaluation and ranking of the most cost effective alternatives necessary to protect our springs.
The current Florida state government has no estimate for how much it will ultimately cost to reverse the existing damage to our springs. But the science is clear. Comprehensive springs' restoration must include a significant reduction in groundwater pumping and a greatly reduced reliance on the use of nitrogen fertilizers. Both of these actions are attainable with little to no expenditure of tax dollars. Our springs deserve better from our elected officials.

140824-c
Symposium makes it clear: Action needed to combat rising seas
Palm Beach Daily News – by Judy Schrafft
August 24, 2014
Recently, a daylong Sea Level Rise Symposium was held at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach with various speakers and panels stressing the importance of understanding the threats inherent in this scientifically recognized phenomenon.
Perhaps the proposed figure of sea level rise facing South Florida, that of up to 6 feet by 2100 and the attendant figure of 1 inch of sea level rise equaling the loss of 8 feet of shoreline, will resonate with residents who may be skeptical of its potential impact.
One has only to consider our own compromised shoreline, and the disproportionate proposed cost of fixing it, to realize that the problem will continue to escalate and our sand will only disappear regardless of how many cubic yards are dumped on designated “hot spots.”
Our entire shoreline should be considered vulnerable to sand loss, storm surge, saltwater intrusion into our shallow fresh water aquifer (which is our drinking water supply); and the impacts of stronger and more frequent storms and other weather-related problems. It should be obvious that the increase worldwide in cyclone, tornado and hurricane activity, and our own “1,000 year” storm this past January that resulted in the “drowning” of several private vehicles on the island, are warning signs of catastrophes to come.
Can anyone who has spent the summer here doubt that this is the hottest year on record? Proven global climate change continues unabated with ocean water expanding due to higher world temperatures, melting of glaciers and polar ice, and the root cause of high emissions of greenhouse gasses particularly from the burning of fossil fuels, according to the International Panel on Climate Change, which is made up of 700 scientists from around the world.
The South Florida Regional Climate Action Plan has been supported by the Board of County Commissioners. It is urged that the county’s mayors sign the Mayors Pledge and that the sea level rise data be incorporated into local comprehensive plans. To date, this is not being done relative to Palm Beach’s proposed $17 million plus beach renourishment project.
I urge Mayor [Gail] Coniglio to support the South Florida Mayors Climate Action Pledge and recognize the perils associated with the inevitable problem of sea level rise, especially as it pertains to the vulnerable South Florida shoreline, and before we all become, in the words of one symposium panelist, “sea-level rise refugees.”

140823-
Dutch solution to Miami's rising seas ?  Floating islands
Miami Herald - by Jenny Staletovich, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
Aug. 23--Maule Lake has been many things over the years: industrial rock pit, aquatic racetrack, American Riviera. Now it is being pitched as something else entirely: a glitzy solution to South Florida's rising seas.
In the land of boom and bust where no real estate proposition seems too outlandish -- Opa-locka'sAli Baba Boulevard connects to Aladdin Street in one of the more kitschy bids to sell swampland -- a Dutch team wants to build Amillarah Private Islands, 29 lavish floating homes and an "amenity island" on about 38 acres of lake in the old North Miami Beach quarry connected to the Intracoastal Waterway just north of Haulover Inlet.
The villa flotilla, its creators say, would be sustainable and completely off the grid, tricked out to survive hurricanes, storm surge and any other water hazard mother nature might throw its way. Chic 6,000-square-foot, concrete-and-glass villas would come with pools, boathouses or docks, desalinization systems, solar and hydrogen-powered generators and optional beaches on their own 10,000-square-foot concrete and Styrofoam islands.
Asking price? About $12.5 million each.
If this sounds like a joke, think again. This, as the Dutch say, ain't no grap.
"We're serious people," said Frank Behrens, vice president of Dutch Docklands, which has partnered with Koen Olthuis, one of Holland's pioneering aqua-tects.
Still, it's hard not to be skeptical.
"It's both fantastic and fantastical," said North Miami Beach City Planner Carlos Rivero, before adding, diplomatically, "This is quite a departure."
Behrens won't say exactly how much the company has invested so far but suggested it is enough to take the plan seriously.
"Look who I'm sitting next to," he said during an interview, pointing to Greenberg Traurig shareholder attorney Kerri Barsh and Carlos Gimenez, a vice president at Balsera Communications and son of the county's mayor, both hired to help ensure the project's success. "This isn't like, 'Oh, let's buy a lake and do a project and make money.' It's 'Let's buy a lake and show people what we're capable of.' "
Together Dutch Docklands and Olthius's firm, Waterstudio.NL, have completed between 800 and 1,000 floating houses in Holland along with 50 other projects including, if there was any question about their design chops, a floating prison near Amsterdam. The team is also constructing the first phase of a 185-villa floating resort in the Maldives -- Behrens said 90 have already sold. Olthius also designed a snowflake-shaped floating hotel in Norway, floating mosques in the United Arab Emirates and even a floating greenhouse out of storage containers usually used by oil companies.
The team believes that by building an extreme example of a floating house in Miami, with every bell and whistle imaginable, it can open up a new American market to a way of building that has addressed rising waters in the Netherlands for a century.
"We chose Miami because we know this city is one of the most affected cities by sea level rise," Olthuis said by phone from Holland. "Once it's done, you'll see it's a beautiful archipelago effect in the lake."
So can you get a mortgage? Buy windstorm insurance? Declare a homestead exemption?
Yes, yes and yes, Barsh said. Practically speaking, the barge-like structures are considered houses, not boats, she said. A 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision on a Riviera Beach houseboat that Barsh helped argue cleared the way by declaring floating homes real estate. After the victory Barsh started talking to Behrens -- they met through the Dutch Chamber of Commerce he founded in Miami in 2011 -- about Dutch-style floating homes in the United States.
"Before, there was a lack of clarity," Barsh said. The court decision "opened up an opportunity for this development to go forward."
Barsh, who also represents rock-mining interests, says such projects could potentially provide a valuable way to reuse rock pits scattered throughout South Florida.
But what would it mean for the manatees that lumber through the saltwater lake, which is designated critical habitat?
Protections would remain in place, the team said. And the islands, with specially contoured undersides, could provide a habitat for sea life, Behrens said.
Still, making the project fit local laws could be tricky. In a preliminary review by the North Miami Beach city staff, Rivero raised questions as mundane as the need for parking. The city's civil engineer wondered about stormwater runoff, among other things. And police say they would need a boat from the developer to patrol the islands. There's one other thing: North Miami Beach's rules for such developments so far apply only to land.
Luis Espinoza, spokesman for the county's Division of Environmental Resources Management, said county officials would need to evaluate the islands for environmental impacts. And there's the matter of taxes.
"If it's a permanent-type fixture, then it will be assessed as property," property appraiser spokesman Robert Rodriguez said.
Over the next 100 years, scientists predict climate change will alter water on a global scale. Seas will swell and coasts will shrink. Weather will become more extreme, with stronger hurricanes, harder rains and higher floods. Even routine tides will rise. And almost nowhere else will those effects likely be more dire than in South Florida, where beachfront highrises and marshy suburbs sit on soggy land kept dry by a complicated network of canals, culverts, pumps and other controls.
So solving the problems of coastal living in the 21st century could be lucrative.
"Here in Miami, it's an artificial landscape, manipulated by mankind at a very high cost," said Dale Morris, an economist with the Dutch Embassy in Washington, D.C., who is not connected to the Amillarah project. "So to think it can be maintained at no cost is nuts. I'm an economist. Nothing is free in this world."
The floating islands, he pointed out, do nothing to solve larger climate problems for cities in South Florida, where flooding now occurs with normal high tides in Miami Beach.
Florida, like Holland, will have to tackle gradual sea rise in addition to event-related flooding like hurricane storm surges, Dutch landscape architect Steven Slabbers said at a recent workshop on resilient design in Miami.
"It's an inexorable, decade-by-decade phenomenon," he said.
Considering other Dutch designs -- protective dunes tunneled out to hold parking, parks that become ponds and highways that float -- a rock pit-turned-floating-housing by using drilling rig technology might not seem so farfetched.
In recent months, the last new project on Maule Lake, Marina Palms, has shown that demand for lakefront property with Intracoastal access is high. Condos in the first of two buildings, which got the glam treatment this year on Bravo's Million Dollar Listing Miami, sold out. But Maule Lake has not always been a twinkling star in the real estate firmament. It began life as a rock pit, when E.P. Maule moved from Palm Beach in 1913. Maule Industries would become the state's largest cement manufacturing plant before falling into bankruptcy in the 1970s after it was purchased by Joe Ferre, whose son, former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre, managed the company.
"That area was rich in rock pits, quarries and concrete manufacturing," explained historian Paul George, who said the rock pits pocked the largely industrial area well into the 1960s.
The porous limestone mines fill with water from the area's high water table. The new lakes provided even more waterfront property to an area already rich with water views, creating a developer's dream -- and possibly an environmentalist's nightmare.
In addition to worries about marine life, building on the lake may raise concerns about water quality and potential effects on the nearby Biscayne Bay aquatic preserve and the Oleta River, another protected ecosystem. There might also be a question of encroaching on some of the area's rare open space.
"We have a history in South Florida of viewing open spaces as a pallet for more product to be built on," said Richard Grosso, a Nova Southeastern University law professor and director of the Environmental and Land Use Law Clinic. "Florida's always been a place where we've suspended the laws of nature and physics and people haven't always taken into account that there's a finite amount of space."
Gimenez, with the public relations firm, said the Dutch team has already met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about concerns. The team also plans to meet with neighbors. And while nothing has officially been submitted, he said no one has raised objections. The 7- to 13-foot-deep lake, he pointed out, is too deep to harbor much marine life or sea grass.
Gimenez also said floating islands are better than the alternative: filling the lake and building highrises. Once mined, rock pits are sometimes refilled with construction and demolition debris. Developers in Hallandale Beach, for example, are filling a 45-acre lake with debris to build an office park. Rivero, the planner, said a North Miami Beach ordinance prohibits the lake from being filled, although property trustee Raymond Gaylord Williams, who had the property listed with a local Realtor for $19.5 million, could challenge that.
But getting a variance from a county ordinance regulating waterways could be a feat, since so few are granted, said land use and environmental attorney Howard Nelson.
"Let's face it, [what developer] wouldn't rather replace a houseboat with a houseboat office," he said. "All of a sudden you don't have the bay anymore. You just have dock space after dock space after dock space with offices."
Behrens, a former banker who grew up in Aruba and was CEO of a Miami-based Dutch distillery, said the team has been meeting with various regulatory agencies to size up the obstacles since 2013 and will resolve issues as they come up. They hope to have permits completed within the next year and a half, he said.
"It's a step-by-step approach," he said. "But we're Dutch. ...We know how to stay and how to make success."

140822-a
Lee County commissioners endorse Amendment One
WGCU.org – by Ashley Lopez
August 22, 2014
In a 4-1 vote, Lee County commissioners endorsed the Florida Water and Land Legacy constitutional amendment this week.
If it passes this November, the constitutional amendment would place one third of the money the state collects from real estate transactions into a trust fund dedicated to preserving sensitive lands across the Sunshine State.
Will Abberger, who manages a campaign supporting the ballot measure, said there’s a lot of important land in Southwest Florida that’s been on the state’s list for future preservation.
However, because state lawmakers have not been funding land conservation like they used to, those lands are not being protected.
Abberger said the endorsement from Lee County officials makes sense.
“Counties like Lee County that have important water resources and important natural areas of wildlife habitat that need to be protected, recognize that Amendment One will provide the funding to do just that,” he said.
Abberger said although the amendment has not been endorsed by other counties in Southwest Florida, it has been endorsed by many other local governments in the state. He said that’s because it will restore revenue that should have been going to the environment these past few years—without raising taxes.

140822-b
Sweet Poison
CounterPunch.org – by Alan Farago is president of Friends of the Everglades 
August 22-24, 2014
The Lethal Costs of Big Sugar
“Drastic Measures”, in the Financial Times (April 25, 2014) details a dramatic shift in health care priorities and the effect of putting the first significant, coordinated pressure on sugar consumption: ”… governments are waking up to the rising costs of illnesses such as diabetes and cancer that have increased alongside obesity. ‘The discussion of sugar linked to dietary concerns has been has been gathering momentum,’ says Stefano Natella of Credit Suisse. “The related global healthcare costs are at an all-time high–the bill is $500 billion or over 10 percent of global healthcare spending — as are obesity and diabetes levels.”
The way that smoking leads to tobacco farmers, the path to the current health care crisis begins with sugar producers. In the United States, the obesity and diabetes epidemic point to Florida where sugar billionaires tied massive subsidies in the Farm Bill to subsidies for corn fructose. When earlier this year the World Health Organization reduced the recommended daily sugar intake by half, to the equivalent of six teaspoons of sugar a day, billionaire sugar barons in West Palm Beach and Coral Gables paid closest attention. Florida sugar producers have a global reach — with operations proliferating in low-cost labor nations like the Dominican Republic, but their intense focus is the Florida proving ground where a sophisticated mobilization of economic, social, and political resources maintains the aura of Big Sugar as good corporate citizen.
Big Sugar is quick to repel environmental and community indignation in Florida — as well as decades of lawsuits over its pollution of the Everglades — , but it hasn’t decided what direction to take with respect to emerging science on the crisis triggered by its products.  While Republican members of Congress rant and rave about the costs of the Affordable Health Care Act, none complain about the toll on consumers’ health through excess consumption of sugar.  Thirty years ago, 1 in 20 kids were obese. Today, it’s 1 in 5.
The Institute for Responsible Nutrition notes that 77% of grocery store items contain added sugar; “Food companies know that the more sugar they add, the more people buy.”  In Great Britain, policy makers are considering a sugar tax. In Florida during the first Clinton term, when Big Sugar faced a tax that would have forced the industry to pay for polluting the Everglades, it enlisted among its chief supporters the churches and leaders in the African American communities of Florida, appealing to minorities disproportionately bearing its high costs.
A recent investigative series by the Tampa Bay Times disclosed that Florida’s top GOP politicians, including Gov. Rick Scott and senior Republican legislators, were flown to all-expenses paid hunting trips to the King Ranch in Texas by U.S. Sugar. Through its Florida subsidiary, the King Ranch is a major sugar and citrus producer and bridges sharply contested water policies in both states: in Texas, where water rights go with land title and in Florida, where the public commons are supervised by the state’s nine water management districts, each administered through a board of gubernatorial appointees.
Florida’s top Republicans attempted to reassure the public that no state business with their hosts was discussed, but it is impossible to dispel the myriad ways that Big Sugar freely undermines the ideals of its base; a heavily subsidized industry that dedicates a portion of its profits to control state and federal regulations that might otherwise protect Americans and the fading Everglades.
Daniel Ruth, for the Tampa Bay Times, opined, “It’s merely an idea, but perhaps the oath of office for our state’s elected panhandlers should be rewritten to read: “I do solemnly swear that I will support, protect and defend the sugar industry interests of the state of Florida; that I am duly compromised to hold office under the legalized bribes of various vested interests in this state, and I will well and faithfully perform the duties of a compliant shill and will to the best of my abilities follow the hunting laws of the great state of Texas for which I am about to board an airplane for an all-expense-paid trip by agricultural lobbyists to butcher unsuspecting critters, so help me (a lot!) the Republican Party of Florida.” (Visions of sugar dance in legislators’ heads, August 20, 2014)
Big Sugar reacted with predictable indignation to the outrage triggered by the Tampa Bay Times disclosures. Florida House Agricultural Chair, Matt Caldwell, wrote in the Fort Myers News Press: “Unfortunately, for much of the last 30 years, an all-consuming obsession with sugar farmers prevailed in Lee County government. As statewide policy makers looked for solutions to heal the Everglades and our estuaries, the inability to see past this obsession meant we stopped getting invited to the table… If we want to continue to have that seat, we must enable constructive leaders, not destructive naysayers. The old politics of division will not solve our woes.”
It is not just the GOP. Democrats are also loathe to tie the costs of Big Sugar to the domestic health care emergency because of the enormous impact of campaign contributions to members of Congress and state legislatures where sugar is grown. According to the website of the Center For Responsive Politics, “sugar is the only industry in the entire agribusiness sector that has consistently supported Democrats in the last two decades.” When Michele Obama tried to move her popular “Get Moving” campaign towards the sugar problem, she was warned off by White House policy makers.
The only surprise in extravagant largesse parceled by Big Sugar to its political allies is that it is ever discovered at all.
Although the entire nation is afflicted by the “corporations are people” results of Citizens United — blowing the doors off campaign finance rules — Florida is a special case. “How-low-can-we-go” is the Florida meme, and it is linked to producing as much sugar as possible on hundreds of thousands of acres that were historically part of the Everglades.
In 1996, Florida voters approved a Constitutional amendment holding sugar polluters to be responsible for cleaning up their farm runoff, laden with excess phosphorous. In the last session of the Florida legislature — nearly twenty years after the measure had been passed, Florida Republicans decided to side-step public outrage by proposing a measure to clean their farm runoff by capping and then reducing the tax sugar polluters pay at $25 per acre; a fraction of what the polluters should be paying for its share of destruction of the Everglades. The 1996 amendment instructs that Big Sugar is primarily responsible; interpreted by some that sugar should pay fifty plus one percent of cleanup costs associated with its mess.
“Those special taxes since 1995 have raised enough to equate to about 12 percent of the nearly $2 billion spent building 57,000 acres of stormwater treatment areas, which filter polluting phosphorus from stormwater runoff.”  (Sugar industry accused of dodging Everglades clean-up costs, Sun Sentinel, June 15, 2014) 12 is a long way from 51 percent.
For Big Sugar, it is always someone else’s fault: dairy and cattle ranches upstream or municipalities and coastal sprawl spreading inland from the coasts. Except for Big Sugar’s intransigence, there would be land enough to cleanse and store the millions of acre feet of water that are periodically pulsing into the Everglades and estuaries; fouling both. Florida’s waters are such a mess one wonders if God hasn’t reached down in exasperation of paradise lost and with His Thumb smudged out the value of homes and real estate values because of water pollution.  As though that weren’t enough, toxic algae blooms —  even flesh-eating bacteria — are proliferating in waterways contaminated by agricultural runoff. Sugar’s response; you can’t prove it has anything to do with us. The entire governmental investment for Everglades restoration, spending billions of taxpayer moneys and hundreds of thousands of agency hours in the multi-decadal effort, is a work-around of Big Sugar.
Last June, Gov. Rick Scott signed into law the latest work-around: “Instead of increasing the $25-per-acre charge on sugar-cane and other growers as environmental groups had long sought, lawmakers last year opted to maintain the current charges through 2026 — 10 years beyond when the tax was set to start declining. After 2026, the tax begins to decline, eventually dropping to $10 per acre.”
Gaston Cantens, Vice President of Florida Crystals, crowed, ”For two decades, the Florida sugar industry has worked together with policymakers, environmental advocates, and other stakeholders in the best interest of Florida … This agreement is a continuation of that successful collaboration and spirit of cooperation we know will get the job done for restoration.”
Representative Matt Caldwell walked point for Big Sugar on the bill. ”A few months later, Caldwell’s re-election campaign received $4,750 from U.S. Sugar and $500 from King Ranch. Soon after, Caldwell registered for his first ever Texas hunting license.” Caldwell would not answer any follow up questions. (Why won’t FL GOP leaders talk about hunting trips to King Ranch in Texas?, Tampa Bay Times, July 25 2014)
Last year, Gov. Rick Scott appointed a top executive from the King Ranch subsidiary to the governing board of the water management district, the taxing entity that is shouldering most of the state’s portion of costs related to Everglades restoration.
Cynical industry manipulation of public processes, with billionaires at their campaign contribution joysticks has crippled government agencies, forcing Congress through the Farm Bill and state legislatures through lax regulations to keep intact sugar’s protected status. In June 2013, George Will, the conservative columnist, bemoaned in the Washington Post, “The provisions by which Washington transfers wealth from 316 million American consumers to a few thousand sugar producers are part of a “temporary” commodity support program created during the Great Depression. Not even the New Deal could prolong the Depression forever. It ended. But sugar protectionism is forever. The Senate recently voted 54 to 45 against even mild reforms of the baroque architecture of protections for producers of sugar cane and sugar beets.”
So why haven’t environmentalists decried Big Sugar as the same kind of destroyer as Big Tobacco? Environmentalists are hunkered in their silos, hoping for some opening in the iron curtain drawn over the Everglades and Florida politics by Big Sugar. They ought to join forces with public health experts to provide a clear accounting:  to the multi-billion dollar costs of cleansing farm runoff in Florida, add the recruitment through farming practices of the most toxic substance known to mankind: methyl-mercury, then add the potentially lethal use of one of America’s largest fresh water sources, Lake Okeechobee, as Big Sugar’s reservoir, plus the unsustainable practice of exhausting the soil through its farming practices; these are still dwarfed by the public health costs of excess sugar.
“Sugar has become the new tobacco,” says Simon Capewell, professor of clinical epidemiology at Liverpool University, one of the founders of Action on Sugar, a UK campaign group formed in January. “Everywhere, sugary drinks and junk foods are pressed on unsuspecting parents and children by a cynical industry focused on profit not health.”
It is time for environmentalists and taxpayers to embrace the one tactic that hasn’t been tried — teaming up with health care professionals and experts fighting the costs associated with excess sugar consumption. Dr. Robert Lustig’s video, “Sugar: The Bitter Truth”, has been viewed on YouTube nearly 5 million times. The public is ready for a very clear message: sugar poisons democracy, poisons the Everglades, and poisons people.

140821-a
A sugary science lesson in response to Nancy Smith
 SaintPetersBlog.com - by Peter Schorsch
August 21, 2014
So just like my morning coffee with sugar, or my occasional sweet treat in the afternoon, it seems like no one can get enough of sugar stories these days. Case in point, two of my highlights in Sunburn yesterday were about the sugary stuff – The Times/Southerland debacle and subsequent crap correction and, of course, the ridiculous paragraph and the Correction of the Day. Oh wait, that is actually four mentions of sugar. Sorry, my confusion must be from a sugar rush.
Opening an email from some far-left environmentalists (not my typical crowd, I will admit) who were interested in the sugar issue but not in the way I imagined. I would have expected said email to read more like a “tar and feather those guys” call to arms, or a “look, we have them on the run, now go for the kill shot,” (pardon the double pun on that last one.) Instead the email was more about correcting the record of the Sunshine State News. Now to be fair, I will admit, I am a big fan of sugar.  No, no, not just the actual white powdery stuff – I actually like the industry and the people who run it. I have also written and have loudly said that I hold the King Ranch hunting stories to be nonsense and non-news. But I do like to be fair and point out when editorialized columns have factually inaccurate statements. After all an opinion editorial should be someone’s opinion but when you are discussing science guys should get a chance at the mic.
What I am referring to is the Nancy Smith’s column titled: “Water Quality Shows 19th Consecutive Year of Passing Marks,” posted on August 14.  Clearly an “atta boy” column pitched to Smith by Sugar – which is what Sugar should do. Get good press in the midst of bad press, or in this case let’s just call it press without a descriptor.
I read the column and did not think much of it, still do not. Until my new enviro-friend (read: a bit crazy of a friend actually, but everyone has to have a cause.) pointed out that while her statements (Smith) and their claim (Sugar) may be true, it is based on a flawed formula.
In fact, the phrase that actually peeked my interest was the analogy of it’s like a Biggest Loser contestant being given credit for weight loss at Weight Watchers prior to going on the show so the percentage of weight loss looks greater in the end.
So I got interested…
Here is how it was explained to me: When water managers announced that phosphorus-reduction results for the most recent water year were two times better than expected last week, they don’t actually use the correct baseline.  So they were “passing” before the first WOD permits (the permits that require the BMPs) were issued in 1992. I would point you to the chart on page 4-12 in the link below, where you can see that, based on the compliance formula they use, in 1992 it would have been a 41% reduction. Again, this was before the District’s BMP regulatory program was even in place.
If you’re going to measure the success of a program, you have to start with the right measuring stick. For the BMP regulatory program administered by the South Florida Water Management District, the results are not measured from the date of the program’s inception. Instead, water managers use a baseline that ended in 1988; the BMP regulatory program did not start until 1992, and the first year for actually measuring compliance was 1996.
Using the Biggest Loser analogy, instead of “weighing in” at the start of the BMP regulatory program in 1992, the industry got to use its “weight” from 1978-1988 as its baseline. A lot of advancements happened with sugar production between the cut off for the baseline and the first day of measuring compliance, most of which had nothing to do with actually trying to reduce pollution. Sugar moved from using human labor to a mechanized process.  Don’t get me wrong, reductions are reductions, but to suggest they are the result of a stringent regulatory program to fight pollution isn’t entirely accurate.  And it does seem a little odd to compare the results of a mechanized process with a baseline set during a period where human labor dominated.
A kid using this type of methodology probably wouldn’t get past the first round of an elementary school science fair. (I really cannot wait for Ella to do a school science project by the way, although I am not ready for her to go to school yet.)
The other misleading thing about Smith’s article is the headline that this is the 19th year of “passing marks,” I am told. She says, “This is the 19th consecutive year that the region has reduced more phosphorus than the goal, according to the district.”  Not true.  The goal is 25% reduction. In 2007, the sugar farms achieved only an 18% reduction. But the industry is actually allowed to be below the 25% reduction requirement for three years before being deemed “not in compliance.” So while the industry has been “in compliance” for 19 consecutive years, it has not always achieved reductions greater than the goal.
For those of you that emailed me complaining about my defense of Big Sugar and always calling out the Times on their “sugary coverage,” there you have it. Fair and balanced, while pointing out a tasty fact and correction that the enviros told me would be accurate. Details matter, no matter which side of the water, sugar cane or state line you are on.

140821-b
Conservatives should conserve
Pensacola News Journal - Editorial Board
August 21, 2014
The mighty hunters from Florida's sugar industry have bagged some really big game this time – a U.S. congressman.
Meet Rep. Steve Southerland, the Panama City congressman who just filed the gratuitously named "Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act." Accompanied by agriculture industry lobbyists and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Southerland framed his legislation in Tea Party terminology.
"If the big government bullies are successful, it will mean higher costs for doing business, more uncertainty in the marketplace and fewer jobs here at home," Southerland said. He talked about "D.C. bureaucrats." He spoke of curbing federal power. His intention is to keep the government's hands off our bodies – of water, that is. Thankfully, Southerland and Putnam stopped short of joining hands and voices with lobbyists in a soaring rendition of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," but you get their gist.
Southerland's bill would alter part of the Clean Water Act that puts the Army Corps of Engineers in charge of wetlands development and permitting. He would give that authority to the states. Which brings up the real question: Which politicians are easier for polluters to buy off – state or federal?
Or maybe they're the same price. Because Michael Van Sickler and former PNJ reporter Craig Pittman revealed that Southerland is the latest Florida Republican to admit to taking part in secretive hunting trips to King Ranch in Texas, where U.S. Sugar executives have hosted the likes of Gov. Scott, Putnam and House Speaker Will Weatherford, even as they lobbied the state and donated heavily to the Florida GOP and the officials' political campaigns. None of the men would provide details about the trips.
At the very least, vacationing with the most infamous polluters of the Everglades just looks bad. But we're expected to believe that the sweet-talkers from the sugar industry weren't trying to coax favors out of the Tallahassee patsies who had offered themselves up to attend these trips ?  Please. We're Floridians – we're crazy, not stupid.
All Southerland's legislation shows is just how far the industry's interests have seeped into government. Putnam's presence at the announcement was almost more embarrassing. After shutting a door in a reporter's face when being questioned about his own King Ranch trips with the Big Sugar boys, did he really need this photo-op ?  Thanks Adam. We the people of Florida are glad to know you've got our back.
Besides, Pittman and Van Sickler point out that the idea that the Army Corps of Engineers is some foreign interloper is false. Their oversight is not conducted from D.C. It is conducted from regional offices throughout the state – by Floridians.
And the characterization of the Corps as strict, "big government bullies" is just absurd. The Tampa Bay Times found that "from 1999 to 2003, the corps approved more than 12,000 wetland permits in Florida. They rejected just one."
We're all for keeping the government out of the lives of law-abiding, freedom-loving individuals. But Southerland is doing nothing of the sort. His legislation would not take power from the federal government and give it to citizens. It would seize power from Floridians and hand it to large polluters like U.S. Sugar – because they own Florida's elected officials. Is that not "big government" of the worst kind?
When it comes to our environment, self-described "conservatives" should start living up to the root of that word – by conserving.

140821-c
Importance of Lake Worth inlet dredging project highlighted
DredgingToday.com
August 21, 2014
Jameel McCline, a Democratic candidate to represent Florida’s 20th Congressional District, has announced his support for the Lake Worth Inlet dredging project.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has given the proposed expansion of the Port of Palm Beach’s entrance channel its final approval stating that the project is environmentally sound and economically beneficial,” said McCline.
McCline continued, “The State of Florida has a unique opportunity to outpace the rest of the country with exports as we are surrounded by water and have a multitude of ports at our disposal. Improving the Riviera Beach, Port of Palm Beach channel depths and widths allowing larger vessels to enter and exit will only improve our ability as a state to leverage exportation and transportation of goods from our shores to around the world.”
“The last time this channel was dredged it was 50 years ago and maintenance is desperately needed to allow our District and our State to remain globally competitive. This is the only port with capability to export sugar and molasses from the Everglades, which is a significant contributor to the economic viability of the communities around Lake Okeechobee.”
The Port of Palm Beach is the 4th busiest container Port in Florida and one of the top 20 busiest in the U.S. — one of only 16 export ports in the United States. More than 1,800 vessels call on the Port of Palm Beach annually, on average 6 per day.
“This is an extremely busy hub of commerce that greatly impacts our state’s economy. Leveraging this port for maximum exportation of our Florida — ‘Made in USA’ products is key to our state’s economic strength and job growth now and in the future. I support this project and the Army Corps of Engineers recommendation to move forward on the Lake Worth Inlet Dredging,” said McCline.

140821-d
In Audubon vs. Osceola, the county does right by Everglades
Orlando Sentinel – by Scott Maxwell
August 21, 2014
In today's Friday Files, I have some tips to help you vote in next week's primary. But first, we have a good-news update.
Last spring, Osceola County made a remarkably bad decision to open up the headwaters of the Everglades to development. It had the potential to foul the land and cost taxpayers gobs of dollars to clean things up.
But this week, the county did something even more remarkable: It made things right. Commissioners actually took a bad vote and reversed it.
Yes, in an age where politicians often do bone-headed things — and then dig their heels in and double-down on dumb — Osceola commissioners admitted they made a mistake and fixed it.
Good for them.
The move came after Audubon of Florida sued the county, which could have fought back. But instead of wasting tax dollars on legal fees, both sides announced a settlement where the county would protect the land.
This is a win for Osceola, for Audubon, for taxpayers — and for future generations.
Judging judges
•Confused ?  This time of year, I get more calls from voters befuddled by judicial races than anything else. I empathize, my befuddled brethren. Judicial candidates are so restricted in what they can say, it's hard to judge the judges. To help out, I put together a piece called: "Judicial elections: 5 ways to help you vote." You can find it at orlandosentinel.com/takingnames.
•One race, two endorsements? One judicial race that has folks particularly confused is the Group 10 battle between Norberto Katz and Kim Shepard — where both candidates have suggested they were endorsed by the Orlando Sentinel's editorial board. Technically, that's true. But not in this race. The Sentinel endorsed Katz. The endorsement Shepard is touting came two decades ago ... when she was running for the Legislature.
Primary picking
There are way too many races on next week's ballot for me to run through them all. And some have more than one good candidate — like the Orange County School Board race between incumbent Joie Cadle, the smart and passionate veteran, and challenger Joshua Katz (no relation to Norberto), the eloquent high school teacher who wants to give the system a needed shake-up when it comes to testing insanity.
But I wanted to highlight a few, special candidates — and one especially embarrassing candidate — who have appeared in columns past.
•Mom power. At the top of the list is Linda Kobert, who's running in Orange County's District 3 School Board race (which has several strong candidates). Linda's story is particularly compelling because she began trying to reform Florida's underfunded education many years ago. She and a handful of other Orlando moms started pressuring state officials to paying more than lip service to public schools. (Documented in a 2009 column that touted "Mom power.") Finally, after seeing so many politicians promise one thing during campaigns — but then later turn their back on students and teachers — Linda decided to run herself. That's the kind of motivation and dedication we should want in all our candidates.
•Similarly, in Seminole County's District 1 race for School Board, we have Rich Sloane. Sloane is a retired Navy captain who spent more years working at the University of Central Florida's education college before he decided he wanted to find a new way to support teachers more directly.
•And finally, Orlando is home to one of the state's most interesting senate primaries: District 12, where former lawmaker Gary Siplin is trying to get back into office by ousting respected Senator Geraldine Thompson. This one is pretty simple. Thompson's claims to fame are serious governing and bipartisan respect. Siplin's claims to fame include his "droopy drawer" bill, multiple ethics complaints and an infamous viral video where Siplin's only response to a TV reporter who confronted him about questionable spending was to repeatedly hug him and scream: "I love you, Joshua Wilson!" Siplin was entertaining ... but also a good argument for term limits. Here's hoping voters give Thompson the support she deserves.

140821-e
Scientists give Governor Scott crash course in climate change
WGCU.org - by Gina Jordan
August 20, 2014
FSU oceanography professor Jeffrey Chanton explains sea level rise projections to Gov. Rick Scott.
Credit Gina Jordan/WLRN
Scientists from South Florida flew to Tallahassee Tuesday for a 30-minute meeting with Gov. Rick Scott.  They went to explain how and why the climate is changing.
The group tried to convince Scott that climate change is real, and humans are at least partly responsible.
Harold Wanless is a professor of geological science at the University of Miami. He says the sea level is rising fast.
“The high end of the projection by the U.S. government is two feet by 2048 plus three feet from where we are now by 2063 or 2064," Wanless says. "That basically is going to do in all of the barrier islands of the world.”
The federal government wants states to cut a third of their carbon dioxide emissions over the next 15 years. This greenhouse gas, produced through human activities, is heavily blamed for the world’s warming temperatures.
Eckerd College Marine Science professor David Hastings says the governor can make a difference now by leading the effort to reduce or eliminate coal-burning power plants and finding alternatives.
"We’re asking him to develop some solar in the state of Florida. There’s tremendous business opportunities within the sunshine state to develop solar for electricity and heat hot water," Hastings says. "There are some expenses involved, but we’re about to spend $400 million to change the infrastructure” to improve the city of Miami Beach’s drainage system.
Earlier this summer, Scott told reporters he’s ‘not a scientist’ when asked whether he believes in man-made climate change.
“You go to Big Pine Key and you find stumps of pine trees that were living twenty years ago that are now drowned and dead because they’re standing in salt water,” says John Van Leer, an ocean sciences professor at the University of Miami. “When the salt water comes up and you’re walking up to your ankles or knees in it, you don’t have to be very brilliant to understand that sea level is rising.”
The group told the governor there is little doubt among scientists that humans are at least partly to blame for warming temperatures.
Scott didn’t ask any questions when the scientists were finished. He hasn’t said whether he will consider any of their recommendations.

140820-a
Can a version ff cap-and-trade reduce water pollution ? Florida hopes so
WFSU.org - by Jessica Palombo
August 20, 2014
Florida plans to go statewide with a water-quality program that lets polluters partially off the hook if they buy credits for extra cleanup others have already done. The credit-selling program has critics in Jacksonville, the city where it started.
A few years back, the polluted St. Johns River became the test case for the voluntary water-quality credit program. The theory, state regulators say, was to foster regional cooperation by adding an economic incentive for water cleanup.
Director of the State Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration, Tom Frick, says credits are one tool to push polluters toward meeting their cleanup obligations.
“That allows water quality restoration to occur quicker. It also allows water quality restoration to occur more cheaply,” he says.
The city of Jacksonville was the credit buyer and private utility company JEA was the seller. Both were already required to clean the river a certain amount, but JEA had gone above and beyond its duty. Jacksonville, which can’t clean as cost-effectively, bought credits from JEA, paying for that extra work, rather than fulfill its entire obligation. Frick says the river still got the total required amount of cleaning—and it happened faster.
But Lisa Rinaman, head of the nonprofit St. Johns Riverkeeper, says the river isn’t benefiting long-term from the program.
“Can it be used in a way where it is adding additional benefit ? That remains to be seen,” she says.
Rinaman says the St. Johns is still impaired, and now the city has less money to deal with pollutants like septic tank runoff.
“So instead of continuing to take these taxpayers’ dollars to focus on septic tank, they’re shifting that money away from the septic tank program and buying water quality trading credits for work that JEA has already done,” she says, adding, “It doesn’t add any net benefit to the St. Johns River.”
She says the Riverkeeper is working with the city and JEA to ensure future credit sales are used to the river’s greatest benefit.
And as DEP prepares to expand water quality credit sales statewide, Frick says lessons learned from Jacksonville will guide it. For one, he says there’s a plan to expand the program to private property owners and farmers.
The department took public comment on the trading program today in Tallahassee and will do so again next week in Palm Bay. Frick says a draft of the rules is expected within a few months, and further input will be taken on that. 
Related:           Can A Version Of Cap-And-Trade Reduce Water Pollution? Florida ...      WJCT NEWS

140820-b
Is a massive red tide bloom headed toward SWFL?
abc-7.com - by Lucas Seiler, Reporter
Aug 20, 2014
LEE COUNTY - We have new information in a massive red tide bloom that we have been tracking.
More testing done Tuesday shows the algae was 10 miles off Pinellas County's shore. While the red tide is patchy, it's 90 miles long, 60 miles wide and moving southeast toward us.
It has already killed thousands of fish and continues to do so. It can cause breathing problems for people if it's close to shore, but that hasn't been the case.
The red tide has been detected off the coast of Sarasota County inshore in very small concentrations. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and Mote Marine Lab are both working together on this.
They tell us they're going to test the water at the Sanibel Causeway and in the Charlotte Harbor. They were supposed to test that water today, but they were dispatched to Pinellas County where there were some reports of a fish kill.
Even though it's very large, it is patchy and that's a good thing. Researchers say that means it's starting to break apart, like algae blooms eventually do.
Researchers say they still plan on testing in Lee and Charlotte counties, but they don't know when. Right now, no red tide has been detected in Southwest Florida.
Related:           Is massive red tide bloom headed toward Southwest Florida? - NBC ...      NBC2 News

140820-c
Scott avoids global warming stand but seeks solutions
TBO.com - by William March, Tribune Staff
August 20, 2014
TAMPA ­­— After a meeting with climate scientists to talk about global warming, Gov. Rick Scott still won’t say whether he accepts the conclusions of science about human activity and climate change.
Instead, Scott says he wants to focus “not (on) causation so much as solutions.”
Asked whether that means limiting emissions of carbon from burning fossil fuels, which scientists say contributes to climate change, Scott said only that he has “asked everybody to come forward with ... solutions.”
Rather than talking about how to prevent global warming, Scott talked about his proposals for environmental spending and criticized former Gov. Charlie Crist, his likely Democratic opponent.
Scott made the comments in response to reporters’ questions after an appearance in Brandon on Wednesday to talk about transportation initiatives.
Asked whether he now believes human activity is related to climate change, Scott replied, “I had a real good meeting (Tuesday) with some scientists who came out to talk about global warming. I listened to their presentation. What I want to talk to you about is not causation so much as solutions. I’m a solutions person.”
Scott then talked about an environmental spending proposal he unveiled in campaign stops recently that would include spending $1 billion over the next 10 years on alternative sources of drinking water and restoration of Florida’s springs, which experts say are badly polluted.
He also mentioned spending for adding sand to eroded beaches, “$350 million on flood mitigation,” and “$100 million to protect our reefs.”
“Charlie Crist didn’t invest a dime,” he said.
Asked whether he would take any steps to reduce carbon emissions, Scott said, “What I’ve asked everybody to come forward with is any solutions. We’ve got to continue to make sure we have the most pristine environment in the world.”
Asked whether accepts what the scientists told him, he said, “I‘m not an expert on this ... I’m not qualified on the causation side. I’m a business guy, I’m a solutions person. So my focus is, we know there’s issues out there, sea level rise. Let’s focus on how we solve it.”
“I’m very appreciative of these scientists,” Scott said when asked whether the changed his thinking on the issue. “They’re like a lot of people. They’re concerned about our future, and so they came forward with ideas. I’m looking for solutions. ... We know that Charlie Crist failed us on the environment. He didn’t focus on these things,”
Crist, when he initially took office as governor in 2006, then a Republican, angered many in his party by proposing a state initiative targeting climate change and hosting a conference on the subject with former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Crist at the time played the issue down in the face of Republican opposition, rising gas prices and the national economic recession, but created a state energy and climate commission, backed standards for lower emissions from automobiles, and opposed construction of coal-fueled power plants.
Scott, who ran as an anti-regulation tea party champion, has overseen deep funding cuts for the state Department of Environmental Protection and water management districts, which regulate water use, and signed legislation abolishing the state Department of Community Affairs, which oversaw growth management.
Scott met Tuesday with five scientists from Florida universities who had sought him out to communicate what they said is their urgent concern about the warming climate and Florida’s extreme vulnerability to the resulting rise in sea levels.
They said afterward they weren’t sure whether they’d had any impact.
Related:           Editorial: Scott has heard the science, now he should act      Tampabay.com
Treasure Coast Newspaper Delves Into Scott's Environmental Record         FCIR
Scientists Meet With Gov. Scott To Warn Of Climate Change         CBS Local
Scientists Give Governor Scott Crash Course In Climate Change     WLRN

140820-d
STATE OF RIVERS: Water quality still an issue going forward
Fort Myers Beach Bulletin, Fort Myers Beach Observer - by Bob Petcher
August 20, 2014
It's been just more than one year since high flow regulatory discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River and St. Lucie River began a debate about water management practices.
During the 2013 rainy season, when officials were "forced" to drain Lake O into the two rivers, prolonged saltwater/freshwater infusion mixed with waste water and fertilizer runoff involving nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients have been said to be the catalyst for harmful algae blooms, including red tide and toxic blue green algae. This has allegedly damaged sea grasses and other plant life, caused oysters to die and fish to relocate to deeper, unaffected waters. Our once aqua-blue Gulf and Back Bay turned to a coffee-brown, brackish color.
Since then, there have been Florida east coast and west coast rallies, business luncheon speeches, forums and Congressional briefings aimed toward the matter. While political figures have announced money allocations towards particular long-term projects, environmentalists have pushed for short-term solutions and a long-term project that sends lake water south into a flow way to the Everglades.
The second annual Save Our River Clean Water Rally took place at Phipps Park in Stuart on Aug. 3. "What we've witnessed in this state for decades is anything but responsible. In fact, it's criminal," said John Scott of the Clean Water Initiative of Florida said at the rally. "Privatized profits and socialized cleanup is not fair to our natural resources or the taxpayers of this state. "Billions of dollars in proposed solutions are on the table that won't come close to resolving our discharge problems. We've had a viable solution for decades. It's called sending the water south. Yet, after all these years, we still haven't been able to make it happen, mostly due to politics, money and misinformation." Many Southwest Floridians have called for "Plan 6" -a restoration of the "River of Grass" to the Everglades Agricultural Area via Sugarcane farmlands and existing public lands. Former Lee County commissioner Ray Judah, the current coordinator of Florida Coastal and Oceans Coalition, advocates cleaning up the waterways by three different measures, one involving Lee County Commission to "coordinate with Congressional and Legislative delegation to support acquisition of 50,000 acres of land between the North New River and Miami canals and south of Lake Okeechobee for storage, treatment and conveyance of water to the Everglades, thereby, alleviating the massive discharge of polluted water released from Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee." Coastal estuaries on both coasts have suffered. Staci-lee Sherwood has worked in the state Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission program for the past seven years on the east coast and stated she has been "rescuing thousands of sea turtles." She would like state officials ban all dumping and discharges into the Indian River Lagoon before doing anything else. "I spent several months working in the rehab center taking care of many of (the sea turtles) back in 2010 and know firsthand how sick they are getting with the fibropapiloma tumors, which is caused by exposure to toxins, like those being dumped into the lagoon," she said. "We can't keep polluting the lagoon. We are at DEF CON 1 here and need action now." Approved projects like C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir Project are not seen as the overall solution. "It is purely a dry season solution that has no water treatment component to it," said Scott of C-43. "It's basically a blue green algae incubator until such time as the projects proposed to accompany it that provide water treatment are done as well. From a wet season 'flow absorber' perspective, it only holds 170,000 acre feet of water, or about 55 billion gallons, which equates to about nine days of 2013 peak flow. Needless to say, it's a drop in the bucket and certainly won't help water quality until the water treatment is there for its releases. "Obviously the best thing we can do for our river(s) from a water quality perspective is send the water south into a flow way. The only things standing in the way of a Plan 6 flow way to send the water south are politics and profits." Back home, Beach resident and activist John Heim believes the water quality is even worse. "It is the combinations of the Lake Okeechobee discharges, flesh eating water diseases, the red tide algae bloom the size of a state of Connecticut, and, of course, the never-talked-about remnants of the BP oil spill that is now be getting to show," Heim said. "But you can't hide ecological disaster for ever. I truly believe that the health of our waters is in really bad shape here on Fort Myers Beach. Yes, visually, it isn't as bad as last year. However, what you cannot see can be even more harmful." Keeping the pressure on environmentally is important. Heim also agrees with Plan 6. "That's the only real fix and the only solution that holds the most common sense," he said. "Allowing the water flow south not only reduces the discharges to the west in the east, it restores the natural flow to the Everglades known as the river of grass. By connecting our rivers to the lake and using them as dumping grounds, we have simply destroyed Mother Nature's plan, while strangling off the Everglades. "Every day, I work directly on the beach, and every single day I over hear a tourist say, 'what's wrong with the water ?'  It makes me cringe, because I know before too long if this keeps up that these very same tourists will not return to Fort Myers Beach." Town of Fort Myers Beach Environmental Sciences Coordinator Keith Laakkonen continues to monitor the situation and is on weekly conference calls with local scientists, wildlife refuge officials, state senators' office personnel and the Army Corps of Engineers. Discussions involve updated local estuary conditions, rainfall conditions and weekly and seasonal weather forecasts. Recommendations and requests are pitched and decisions are then made. Last year, high flows were recorded to be up to 10,000 cubic feet per second. Scientific research shows that anything higher than 2,800 cu ft/s is harmful to the estuaries. "This year, we were able to get more water through the dry season, which really helped the estuaries," Laakkonen said. "We were hoping for some more fresh water release in May, but the lake dropped too low. The salinity did get a little too high, higher than we liked in the upper estuary." Recently, heavier rains at the Lake O area have resulted in heavier flows down the Caloosahatchee River. Those flows have exceeded the harmful levels. "We want to get those flows back down below 2,800 cubic feet per second to make sure those releases get back down to a more manageable range for the ecology of the estuary," said Laakkonen. "Those high flow ranges can actually drive salinity too low for sea grasses in the lower estuary and can also have an effect of blowing out fish, vertebrae and oyster larvae from the estuary." Last year's high flows are still showing effects, according to the Town's scientist. "One thing we are pretty sure of from last year's flows is that a lot of excess nutrients came down through the river from both the Caloosahatchee Watershed and the lake," said Laakkonon. "It is very likely that those nutrients are still in the near-shore area. "Since those nutrients are above what you would normally expect out there, they can contribute to algae blooms that occasionally affect our shoreline." Beach algae too thin to remove A recent algae bloom on the Beach at mid-island was monitored closely, but Town officials believed it didn't warrant being dispersed of. High tides removed the algae naturally. "The algae was so thin and so wide spread and so mixed in with sand that, if we tried to remove it, we would have actually taken tons of sand off the beach," said Laakkonen. "We don't want to damage the beach just to remove some algae." Red tides have remained away from the area. A bloom is still being monitored off shore in Pinellas County. "We haven't had a red tide anywhere in the area for the past several months," said Laakkonen. "The bloom that has been talked about is far off shore and further up the coast." Town officials would like residents and visitors to know that if algae does pile up on Fort Myers Beach and can be removed without damaging beachfront, they will. "The beach is the basis of our economy, our tourism and our quality of life, so we don't want to destroy the beach by just taking some algae off," Laakkonen said. -

140820-e
Time to stop lying to the people about our water woes
News-Press.com - Guest Opinion by Matt Caldwell
August 20, 2014
I've written some variation of this letter many times over the last decade and each time I've set it aside, hewing to the old advice "If you can't say something nice…" But then, I am upbraided by supporters for leaving charges unanswered, saying silence is agreement.
But this past Saturday, The News-Press ran what is at least the third op-ed in 2014 penned by Ray Judah and directly attacking me not only for my votes, but my fundamental character. So I am finally breaking down and giving an answer:
While Ray Judah wants you to believe I am bought off, the fact is, every member of the Legislature voted for the 2013 Everglades Act, including members like Rep. Mark Pafford, the incoming Democratic Leader in the House and current CEO of the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation.
Of course, farmers receive a benefit from the flood control system, but that's nothing special. It's the same benefit that roughly 3 million Floridians in Wellington and Miami Lakes, and at the Sawgrass Mall receive. Because they all sit in the same exact flood plain, both farm and city.
And it's the same benefit that nearly 1 million Floridians in Lehigh Acres, Cape Coral and Fort Myers receive because they all drain straight into the Caloosahatchee.
Our river provides the largest single drain for the whole system and we in Lee County happily join in, draining hundreds of square miles directly into the river. In fact, in the 2013 rainy season, roughly 50 percent of the floodwater came straight from us here in Southwest Florida.
I personally began to involve myself in Everglades issues after the 2004-2005 hurricanes and was thankful to be appointed to a volunteer advisory committee. But from my very first meeting, it was obvious that Lee County interests had not been taken seriously for a very long time.
Unfortunately, for much of the last 30 years, an all-consuming obsession with sugar farmers prevailed in Lee County government. As statewide policy makers looked for solutions to heal the Everglades and our estuaries, the inability to see past this obsession meant we stopped getting invited to the table.
I place this loss of credibility directly on Ray Judah. His reputation for belligerence made him infamous; so much so that his electoral defeat in 2012 is still a topic of regular gleeful discussion by public servants as far away as Jacksonville and Pensacola.
Ray's modus operandi was to bully his colleagues on the Lee County Board of County Commissioners, to intimidate staff in direct violation of the Lee County Charter, and wantonly insult every public official and private property owner who didn't agree with his narrow views.
Both previous and current state legislators have worked diligently to restore our lost credibility, and progress is being made. I am proud to have worked with stakeholders and colleagues to bring the first ever water quality project to the Caloosahatchee. Combining that with funding for the C-43 Reservoir and water quality projects in Alva and North Fort Myers, we are making a difference. Projects like this were only dreams a few years ago, but now Southwest Florida has a real seat at the table.
If we want to continue to have that seat, we must enable constructive leaders, not destructive naysayers. The old politics of division will not solve our woes. I do not claim to have a monopoly on wisdom. I simply offer myself as someone with a passion for our issues and a willingness to listen to every party. Everyone willing to meet those simple terms is welcome to grab a seat next to me.
State Representative Matt Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers, serves as Chairman of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee in the Florida House of Representatives. This committee, among other issues, is charged with oversight of water resource policy for the State of Florida.

140819-
Group says Florida's major wastewater violators go unpunished
WUSF.edu – by Ashley Lopez
August 19, 2014
A recent report from a watchdog group monitoring the state’s environmental regulators found Florida’s major wastewater dischargers-- including three in Southwest Florida-- are violating clean water laws with little enforcement from state officials.
The Florida chapter of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) said many Clean Water Act violations are inciting little or no enforcement action from state and federal officials.
Jerry Phillips, who wrote a new report for PEER, said these major wastewater dischargers include municipal sewage treatment plants and corporate operations.
He said almost 50 facilities, which include two municipal plants in Fort Myers and one in Naples, have not been complying with water standards for more than seven years. Phillips also said records show more than a hundred facilities were listed for violations 11 times in the past 14 years and there’s no record of enforcement action in response.
Phillips said lax wastewater discharge regulations affect the state’s water quality.
“These are exactly the type of discharges that can contribute to algae blooms and this sort of outcome in Florida’s waterways,” he said. “Because they are the type of discharge that algae feed on.”
His report also found regulators penalize dischargers in about half of reported violations.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said its Aug. 7 statement, which said compliance rates across the agency’s regulatory programs are at an all-time high of 96 percent, still stands.

140818-a
DEP issues construction permit for new levee system
FDEP - Press Release
August 18, 2014
In a move to increase flood protection for south Florida residents, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has issued a permit for the construction of a new levee system.
This project is a cooperative effort between the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Indian Trail Improvement District (ITID).
The environmental resource permit is for the construction of a 6.25 mile levee system within the J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area located in western Palm Beach County. The levee system improvement project consists of constructing a new levee within uplands and wetlands in areas which separate J.W. Corbett from the ITID M-O Canal.
Under the direction of Governor Rick Scott, the SFWMD convened a multi-agency working group in September 2012 to develop a plan for strengthening the M-O Canal in an effort to meet current standards and to improve flood protection and safety to the residents in the surrounding areas.
“I’m excited about the effect this project will have on the local community,” said Jill Creech, director of DEP’s Southeast District. “The impact from Tropical Storm Isaac on the property owners in western Palm Beach County was huge. This project will help restore some peace of mind for residents should another significant weather event, such as Isaac, bear down on our community.”
The purpose of the project is to improve flood protection for the residents of the surrounding areas. In addition, the project will expand operational control of water levels as originally designed and permitted, which may attract additional endangered species to inhabit the area.
“The district moved historic amounts of water from the deluge caused by Tropical Storm Isaac and worked to shore up a key berm for better protection in an emergency situation,” said John Mitnik, SFWMD bureau chief of operations, engineering and construction. “We have engineered a new levee and are ready to initiate construction to help ensure the safety of residents for years to come.”
Phase one of the project is anticipated to be complete by January 2016. Phase two will follow and the levee should be complete by January 2018. The total cost of the project is estimated at $7.8 million.

140818-b
With close ties to sugar, Florida’s next House speaker admits taking King Ranch trip
Herald/Times - by Michael Van Sickler and Craig Pittman, Tallahassee Bureau
August 18, 2014 
To say that Steve Crisafulli is comfortable working with the sugar industry is an understatement.
Crisafulli, who will become the most powerful man in the Florida House of Representatives this fall, has been a major beneficiary of the state’s sugar industry. During the past two election cycles, agricultural interests have contributed at least $200,000 to Rep. Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, and his political action committees. U.S. Sugar contributed almost half of that total, $94,500.
And now, through a spokesman, the House speaker-designate has confirmed that he took at least one secret hunting trip to King Ranch in Texas.
The Herald/Times revealed last month that Gov. Rick Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and other Florida politicos took secret hunting trips to King Ranch that were orchestrated by and at least partially paid for by U.S. Sugar. The cost of lodging, travel and other items was funneled through the Republican Party of Florida, which said it was for fund-raising.
The law allows donors to give unlimited contributions to parties and political committees as long as the gift serves a vaguely defined “campaign purpose.” Parties can then bestow the gifts on politicians who need not tell taxpayers what they received or who paid for it.
Last month, Crisafulli and current House Speaker Will Weatherford would not respond to questions about whether they went on the trips, too, although both received Texas hunting licenses. After the Herald/Times stories were published, Weatherford acknowledged going.
“I went to King Ranch once in 2011, once in 2012 and once in 2013,” Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said in a statement. “All three trips were Republican Party of Florida fund-raisers. In those three years, I shot one deer. I personally paid for all costs associated with the mounting of the deer, which my wife would not allow me to hang in our home.”
Now Crisafulli, 43, has acknowledged going, too — although, as with Weatherford, Scott and Putnam, he would not say who accompanied him on the trip or what was discussed.
Instead, he released a four-paragraph statement through his spokesman that read in part: “I have participated in fund-raising events in places such as New York City, California, and Texas, to name a few. Some have been events at sporting competitions, others have been at historic locations, and at King Ranch the events included game hunting.”
Records indicate Crisafulli has obtained a Texas hunting license three times since 2011, including at least once when Weatherford had one. King Ranch is a major Florida sugar and citrus grower, and U.S. Sugar leases thousands of acres on the ranch’s Texas spread for hunting.
Crisafulli was born into a citrus-growing family. Prior to his election to the House in 2008, he was president of the Brevard County Farm Bureau.
“Agriculture is the foundation of Florida’s economy,” his website, stevecrisafulli.com, states.
The sugar industry touches every aspect of his political life.
U.S. Sugar contributes to almost everyone in the state’s GOP leadership. During the 2014 election cycle, the company and its officers gave $2.2 million to state Republicans.
But the company is exceptionally close to Crisafulli. For the past two election cycles, U.S. Sugar has accounted for about 4 percent and agribusiness for almost 10 percent of Crisafulli’s total contributions.
Other Republican leaders don’t come close to matching that.
Weatherford, a prodigious fund-raiser, mustered 3 percent of contributions in his last two elections from agribusiness, and 2 percent from U.S. Sugar. Senate President Don Gaetz drew 2 percent of his contributions from agriculture, with about half from U.S. Sugar. Incoming Senate President Andy Gardiner drew 2 percent from agriculture, 1 percent from U.S. Sugar.
Of those four leaders, only Crisafulli has received $500 contributions from members of the U.S. Sugar board of directors and their wives, as well.
Crisafulli typically does not speak to reporters, referring questions to Brian Hughes, Gov. Scott’s former spokesman. Hughes left the governor’s office in 2011 and now represents Crisafulli with his consulting company, Meteoric Media, which he started in 2009.
In addition, Hughes works for the House Republican Campaign Committee, and he is the spokesman for Florida Sugar Farmers, a coalition of U.S. Sugar, Florida Crystals and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, of which King Ranch is the largest member.
Crisafulli’s campaign advisor, Trey McCarley, registered for Texas hunting licenses the past two years along with Kris Money, Weatherford’s deputy chief of staff. Since 1998, McCarley has worked on the campaigns of Putnam, House Appropriations Chair Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, former House Speaker Dean Cannon and Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-Lehigh Acres — all of whom took King Ranch trips.
Since 1995, sugar growers have paid $25 per acre per year toward restoring the Everglades. Environmental groups have long contended that sugar companies should pay more, rather than sticking taxpayers with the rest of the pollution-cleanup costs.
But Caldwell sponsored a bill to extend the $25-per-acre cost until 2026. The 2013 bill also said that the sugar companies’ payments would meet the requirements of Florida’s “Polluter Pays” law, guaranteeing tht no one could sue them to make them pay more.
The bill’s first committee hearing was at the State Affairs Committee, chaired by Crisafulli. Environmental groups told committee members that they objected to that provision in the bill.
Only two people spoke in favor of the break for sugar companies. One was a sugar company lobbyist. The other was Brewster B. Bevis, who oversees lobbying for the pro-business group Associated Industries of Florida. The bill passed unanimously, and afterward, Hughes talked to reporters on behalf of the sugar industry, rather than speaking for Crisafulli. Ultimately, the bill passed the Legislature and was signed into law by Scott.
On the same day in 2012 that Crisafulli obtained a Texas hunting license, Bevis posted a photo on his Facebook page showing him with a dead buck. The caption indicated he had shot it at King Ranch and, in a subsequent post, he identified the location as the area where U.S. Sugar has its hunting lease.
After the Herald/Times stories on Florida politicians taking secret trips to King Ranch, Bevis removed that photo from Facebook. He did not respond to requests for comment.
Bevis works with an Associated Industries group focused on crafting a new, business-friendly Florida water policy, called the Florida H2O Coalition.
During the 2014 legislative session, Weatherford delayed any major water policy legislation that would address pollution from agricultural production. He said he was doing so out of deference to Crisafulli, who had declared that he would make crafting a state water policy his chief priority as speaker. So far, he has not specified what that policy would involve.

What is
Vibrio vulnificus?
Infection is rare, yet it can be a serious disease caused by bacteria commonly found in warm brackish and saltwater, and in shellfish.

What are the symptoms?
Symptoms include, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, skin breakdown and skin ulcers. The bacteria can invade the bloodstream, causing septic shock and skin lesions.

What can I do?
Keep brackish and saltwater away from open wounds, don't eat raw shellfish and avoid cross-contaminating food with raw shellfish and its juices.
SOURCE: Florida Department of Health

140817-a
As water temperature rises so does threat of bacterial infection
DaytonaBch.NewsJ.com - by Skyler Swisher
August 17, 2014
DAYTONA BEACH — When doctors wanted to amputate, Eugene Fraber realized how serious the cut on his foot had become.
Just a day before, the 49-year-old Daytona Beach resident had been helping to dredge a boat slip in the Halifax River. The blast from a pressure washer went across his foot and sliced his skin.
Naturally occurring bacteria likely caused the wound to become infected. Despite millions of encounters with Florida's waters every summer, less than 100 cases of these types of aggressive infections are typically reported in a given year.
When they do occur, they can be serious.
Health officials are warning the public to avoid entering brackish water, such as the Halifax River, with open wounds, especially those who have compromised immune systems, diabetes, liver damage or other underlying health conditions.
“A small cut like that, I wouldn't have thought anything of it,” Fraber said. “The river is beautiful, but it can be deadly.”
Several strains of bacteria can cause nasty infections. They thrive during the hottest months of the year.
Vibrio vulnificus is one type of bacteria that public health officials are watching. So far this year, 15 cases of vibrio infections and three deaths have been reported in Florida, according to the Florida Department of Health. No cases have been reported in Volusia and Flagler counties this year, although one local resident died from it last year.
“For folks who are healthy, it's really not a concern being in the water,” said Dr. Bonnie Sorensen, director of the Volusia County Health Department. “It's folks who have an open wound somewhere where the bacteria can get into the skin, folks who are walking barefoot on oyster shells and get a cut, or if a person is immune compromised or has any type of liver affliction.”
Fraber would be considered at a higher risk. His spleen had been removed because of a traumatic incident. The spleen filters the blood and helps to prevent infection.
Last year, Henry “Butch” Konietzky, a 59-year-old Palm Coast resident, died from a vibrio infection he contracted while crabbing in the Halifax River near High Bridge Road in Ormond Beach. Infections can also be contracted by eating raw shellfish.
The bacteria are found in highest concentrations in estuaries, inlets and the Intracoastal Waterway, said Paul Gulig, a professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at the University of Florida.
“It's just naturally there,” Gulig said. “It's not there because of pollution or sewage. There's really nothing that can be done about it. It's just part of Florida's waters — like sharks and jellyfish.”
While the health department monitors bacteria levels at the beach, it doesn't test rivers, streams and lakes. Vibrio typically doesn't tolerate high levels of salinity found in the ocean, Gulig said.
Fraber waded into the water in July 2011 near John Anderson Drive in Ormond Beach. He spent 19 days hospitalized at Halifax Health Medical Center and underwent four operations.
A culture of his wound revealed the presence of Aeromonas, a bacteria similar to vibrio that can cause aggressive infections, according to Fraber's medical records.
Even though his foot has healed, Fraber said he still hasn't fully recovered.
“I go through pain every day,” he said. “It's just part of my life. It's just something I am going to have to deal with.”

140817-b
Red tide threatens marine life off Florida
LosAngelesTimes - by Deborah Netburn
August 17, 2014
There’s a massive red tide blooming off the coast of southwestern Florida, and it appears to be growing.
The red tide is patchy, but researchers say it stretches an amazing 60 miles wide and 90 miles long in the Gulf of Mexico.
Just a few weeks ago, it was reported to be 50 miles wide and 80 miles long.
Even at its new size, it’s not the most colossal algal bloom recorded in this part of the world, but it is the biggest since 2005, according to Hayley Rutger, a spokeswoman with Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Fla.
“They are part of the natural system of the gulf, so we do get used to seeing them,” she said. “ This one is large, but not the largest we’ve ever seen.”
This particular type of red tide, sometimes called “Florida red tide,” occurs when a microscopic algae called Karenia brevis (or K. brevis for short), begins to multiply out of control.
Florida red tides do not seem to be affected by human activity. They have been observed off the Florida coast since the 1700s and usually start between 10 and 40 miles offshore.
But just because they occur naturally doesn’t mean they are no big deal. K. brevis produces a toxin that attacks the central nervous systems of fish, birds and marine mammals. Already, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that thousands of snapper, grouper, grunts, crabs, bull sharks, lionfish, sea snakes, octopuses and eels have been found dead.
The red tide also can pose a risk to humans. Waves can break up the K. brevis cells, causing them to release their toxins into the air. The airborne toxins are not deadly, but they can be especially irritating to people with asthma or emphysema. And if the winds are right, they can travel as much as a mile onshore. The toxins in the water can also cause some people to develop a skin rash.
This bloom is still 20 miles offshore, but it is moving.
Scientists have no safe way of controlling these algae blooms, and it is not clear that they should.
“Because they are naturally occurring, if you try to alter them you could affect other marine life in ways you hadn’t bargained for,” Rutger said.

140817-c
Two women take on Stronach to save our water, springs
Ocala.com - by John Dunn, Special to the Star-Banner – a history teacher at Forest High School and an environmental activist. He lives in Ocala.
August 17, 2014
Star Banner editorial page editor Brad Rogers got it right. Silence, he wrote recently, is what we get from many local elected officials instead of solutions to our most vexing problems.
But we do have leaders — only they're not elected.
Consider Karen Ahlers and Jeri Baldwin. They are two exceedingly brave and determined women who are waging a legal battle to stop billionaire Frank Stronach from getting a water permit for a 30,000-acre cattle farm and slaughterhouse in Marion County. Known as Adena Springs Ranch (which is now calling itself “Sleepy Creek Lands”), the agribusiness plans to raise 17,000 cows and slaughter them on site.
What makes the project unique is the cattle will be fed lots of grass, hydrated by water pumped from the aquifer we all depend on. Adena, initially, requested a consumptive water permit from the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) to pump as much as 13.3 million gallons a day (mgd) from our aquifer. Since then, however, public opposition led by Ahlers and Baldwin may have helped to reduce that request to 5.3 mgd.
However, critics, including springs scientists and experts hired by Ahlers and Baldwin, believe the Adena/Sleepy Creek Lands project still poses problems. They fear this massive water extraction could harm Silver Springs, wreak ecological damage and reduce our water supply. Manure from 17,000 cows, they argue, also will promote the growth of algae which hurts wildlife and can turn drinking water toxic as residents of Toledo, Ohio, now know.
Adena/Sleepy Creek Lands officials disagree with these charges and are pursuing the project.
Meanwhile, two lawsuits are challenging their water permit request. Ahlers filed the first one.
Who is she? Among other things, she is the former head of the Putnam County Environmental Council, and the current executive director of the Florida Defenders of the Environment. Ahlers also is smart, funny, hyper-informed, articulate, fearless and formidable.
Her co-litigant, Jeri Baldwin, is a no-nonsense, intelligent, captivating storyteller, softball team manager, organic farmer, and founder of the Crones' Cradle Conserve, an ecological preserve and education center in Marion County.
Neither woman wants to be in court. They won't make a nickel from their efforts.
Instead, they face mounting legal expenses, never ending stress, threats and criticism, which sometimes comes from the very officials who are supposed to protect our water supplies, but usually don't.
So, why are they sticking their necks out when almost everyone else isn't?
“We felt we had to,” Ahlers says, “because we can't trust the people whom we've entrusted with the authority to protect our resources. More than a year ago, 3,375 people submitted our objections to Adena Springs Ranch. But the St. Johns River Water Management District announced its intention to grant permits to move the project forward, anyway.”
Early on in the conflict, Ahlers thought that even the big environmental organizations, such as the Sierra Club and Audubon, were not going to get involved in the Adena issue. (Recently, however, the St. Johns Riverkeeper and Sierra Club Northeast Florida have filed their own joint lawsuit, which also opposes granting the controversial water permit.)
When it became apparent nobody else was going to birddog the permit and protect the public interest, Ahlers and Baldwin decided they had no choice but to prepare to go to court.
“In our lawsuit, filed in early June, we declare our belief that Adena Springs Ranch/Sleepy Creek Lands LLC and the District have not provided reasonable assurances that water resources will not be significantly affected,” Ahlers says.
There's something else that motivates Ahlers. In 2002, the Jacksonville Energy Authority (JEA) scooped up water utilities in seven counties in Northeast Florida. In the process, it consolidated its acquired consumptive water use permits into one huge permit and emerged as a major water supplier in Northeast Florida with little competition.
“At the time, nobody would challenge what JEA was doing,” she says. “Not water management officials. Not the Sierra Club. Not Audubon. Not big environmental groups.”
Ahlers' own environmental group at the time also did nothing. They were worried, she said, but didn't stand up to JEA.
Today, she thinks that was a mistake. Lakes are disappearing in Keystone Heights and elsewhere. Ahlers and others believe JEA's water extractions are partly to blame.
Haunted by that memory, Ahlers vows that never again will she allow a big water permit request to take place without doing her “damnedest to get people to pay attention.”
So, when the Adena/Sleepy Creek permit application was submitted to SJRWMD officials 2½ years ago, she took it personally, hired an attorney and experts to prepare, if necessary, to go to court. Baldwin signed up, too. Another 400 individuals donate what they can to the cause.
Today, Ahlers and Baldwin are on a crusade. They speak at springs forums and water management public hearings, beg for money, sponsor fundraisers and dip into their own savings.
But their resources are no match for Stronach's billions and political connections.
That's why these two grown-up country girls are willing to play David against a formidable Austrian/Canadian Goliath.
“We hope to show, by example, to other everyday citizens — who are fed up with corruption, inaction and seeing their state ruined — that they do have power and can make a difference if they take collective action,” says Ahlers. “We are the people we've been waiting for.”
Leading by example and not silence? Some would call that real leadership.
So, why aren't all of us speaking out? None of us should be silent.
For more information, go to the Water Protection Fund at Southern Legal Counsel online at www.southernlegal.org.

140816-a
Land conservation and water quality go together
News-Press.com – Opinion by Ray Judah
July 16, 2014
As Lee County works to comply with the Clean Water Act, it is important to understand the value of improving water quality in our rivers and coastal estuaries for drinking, fishing, swimming and our multibillion-dollar tourism and real estate-based economy.
Rather than criticize the restoration of our waterways as a punitive unfunded federal mandate, so often decried by elected officials, a more thoughtful approach would be to accept the responsibility of cleaning up our waterways in our own backyard.
The highest priority to enhance water quality is to determine the source of pollutants and to that end, Lee County has implemented a number of programs and procedures to reduce contamination to ground and surface waters.
Over the past several decades, the county pushed for conversion of septic tanks to central sewers, the use of reclaimed wastewater for irrigation versus direct outfall into the Caloosahatchee River and the adoption of the fertilizer ordinance. In addition, the construction of filtration marshes and purchase of land under the Conservation 20/20 and Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed programs to store and filter stormwater runoff.
Unfortunately, the greatest source of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which are the catalyst for harmful algae blooms, including red tide and toxic blue-green algae, is the polluted water released from Lake Okeechobee that flows down the Caloosahatchee and into our coastal estuaries.
The nutrients enter Lake Okeechobee from surrounding agricultural drainage.
There are several ways that the Lee County commission could substantially reduce the cost to Lee County taxpayers in meeting the total maximum daily load requirements imposed by federal mandate to clean up our waterways:
* Collaborate with Florida League of Cities, Florida Association of Counties and legislative delegation to support legislation to implement the 1996 Polluter Pays constitutional amendment that requires those primarily responsible for pollution around Lake Okeechobee to clean up their pollution. The Legislature has deferred implementation of this public mandate, thereby placing the financial burden of restoring impaired waters on the backs of the taxpayers.
* Coordinate with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to support a basin management action plan for Lake Okeechobee to include Nitrogen.
* Coordinate with congressional and legislative delegation to support acquisition of 50,000 acres between the north New River and Miami canals and south of Lake Okeechobee for storage, treatment and conveyance of water to the Everglades, thereby, alleviating the massive discharge of polluted water released from Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee.
In violation of the public trust, the Lee County commissioners voted to raid the Conservation 20/20 trust fund in the 2013-14 fiscal year to balance the budget. The board is now considering further evisceration of the 20/20 program by changing the focus of a land conservation program to a water quality program.
Prior to the shortsighted decision by the commissioners in 1991 to repeal the Water Conservation Utility, the county had a program in place to fund maintenance and restoration of waterways that would ensure compliance with state and federal water quality standards.
The Lee County commission should consider the most cost-effective and resourceful means of reinstituting the water conservation utility versus undermining the Conservation 20/20 program to comply with water quality mandate.
A potential source of funds for local water quality projects could be the repeal of the Okeechobee levy, which is paid by Lee County taxpayers for the South Florida Water Management District to provide drainage and irrigation of the sugar cane fields south of Lake Okeechobee. Lee County taxpayers pay in excess of $30 million annually and the return on the investment is polluted water, fish kills, and harmful algae blooms, including red tide.
Certainly, the more conservative and responsible approach would be to redirect the funds for local beneficial use.
Ray Judah is the director of   Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition
What is FCOC?
The Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition is a group of organizations working together to conserve, protect and restore Florida's coastal and marine environment. The Coalition emphasizes the implementation of an eco-system based approach to coastal and ocean management, as well as recognition of the important linkage between the health of Florida's economy and the health of its beaches and dunes, coral reefs, mangroves, sea grasses, wetlands and other natural resources. The Coalition calls on Florida's Governor, State Agencies, Cabinet, and Legislature for action and leadership to achieve the goal of healthy ocean and coastal eco-systems.

140816-b
Sugar supersedes people on Caldwell priority list
News-Press.com – Guest Opinion by Ray Judah, former Lee County Commissioner
August 16, 2014
The Caldwell amendment provided the sugar industry the certainty that their long term funding commitment towards Everglades restoration would be significantly limited in scope.
Following the 2013 Florida legislative session, I wrote a commentary concerning the passage of HB 7065 and SB 768, which amended the 1994 Everglades Forever Act.
Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers, sponsored HB 7065 under the guise of increasing the sugar industry's funding commitment to Everglades restoration when in fact his proposed amendment was a smoke screen to ensure the sugar industry was able to limit their long-term obligation to fund Everglades' restoration.
Rep. Caldwell's reprehensible behavior is symptomatic of many politicians in office today.
Rep. Caldwell should have supported an amendment that increased the $25 dollar privilege tax.
The 1994 Everglades Forever Act, which was ostensibly written to restore the Florida Everglades, capped the sugar industry's cleanup costs at $320 million and obligated the public taxpayers for the remainder of the multibillion-dollar restoration project. The so-called privilege tax of $25 per acre the sugar industry pays to continue their discharge of pollution runoff to the Everglades, as well as the Caloosahatchee River and coastal estuaries, amounts to approximately $11 million per year. A truly insignificant sum in contrast to the billions required by the public taxpayers to restore the Florida Everglades.
The $25 per acre privilege tax was scheduled to be reduced to $10 per acre in 2017, but the Caldwell amendment extended the $25 per acre to 2026. To the casual observer it would appear that the legislative action would ensure that the sugar industry continued to help fund Everglades restoration. In actuality, the legislation provided the sugar industry the comfort level or certainty that its long term funding commitment towards Everglades restoration would be significantly limited in scope.
Instead of defending the sugar industry and suggesting that the public taxpayers contribute an even greater amount to Everglades restoration, Rep. Caldwell should have supported an amendment to the Everglades Forever Act that increased the $25 dollar privilege tax. This would have ensured that the sugar industry paid their fair share toward Everglades restoration as opposed to the sugar industry continuing to receive special treatment as the Florida Legislature's favorite welfare recipient and shift the tax burden onto the backs of the public taxpayers.
A review of the public records and recent media reports indicate that Rep. Caldwell's reward for representing Big Sugar include generous campaign donations and a trip to U.S Sugar's hunting lodge on the King Ranch Game Preserve in Texas.
What used to be government of the people, by the people and for the people has severely eroded to a system that is governed by self-serving interests with immense wealth to ensure their handpicked politicians control the political process to the detriment of the public.
An open and effective representative form of government can only prevail if people act responsibly and exercise their right to vote and demand accountability and honesty from their elected officials.
Unfortunately, people have become disenfranchised with the political process due to sleazy negative campaigns perpetuated by PACs. Lower voter turnout has transformed the political arena into a coronation event for special interests foot soldiers.
Representation of the public interest and restoration and protection of our precious natural resources, including the Everglades, Caloosahatchee and coastal estuaries will only happen with an informed and engaged public that values and understands their responsibility as a registered voter. Silence is consent.

140815-
The Nature Conservancy contributes $100,000 to the Florida’s Water and Land Legacy Campaign
Nature.org
August 15, 2014
In a generous effort to ensure protection of Florida’s water quality, natural areas, beaches, and wildlife, The Nature Conservancy is the latest major contributor to Florida’s Water and Land Legacy campaign with a gift that will further the campaign’s goal of educating Florida voters about the importance of Amendment 1, the Water and Land Conservation Amendment.
TALLAHASSEE, FL | August 15, 2014
In a generous effort to ensure protection of Florida’s water quality, natural areas, beaches, and wildlife, The Nature Conservancy is the latest major contributor to Florida’s Water and Land Legacy campaign with a gift of $100,000. This donation will further the campaign’s goal of educating Florida voters about the importance of Amendment 1, the Water and Land Conservation Amendment.
“We have built a strong coalition of national, state, and local partners, all focused on protecting and preserving our state’s truly unique water and land resources,” said Allison DeFoor, chair of the Legacy campaign. “This significant contribution will help us continue to spread the message that a “Yes” vote on Amendment 1 will protect our drinking water sources and rivers, lakes, springs, and bays, without increasing taxes.”
The Water and Land Conservation Amendment would dedicate funding for conservation, management and restoration of Florida’s water and land resources for 20 years. The Amendment, which if approved by the voters would take effect July 1, 2015, sets aside one‐third of the existing documentary stamp tax (paid when real estate is sold) to restore the Everglades, protect drinking water sources, and revive the state’s historic commitment to protecting natural lands and wildlife habitat.
“We fully embrace Amendment 1 to protect our state’s clean water, natural areas, wildlife habitat, and working lands in the face of increasing pressures from population growth and development, all without any new taxes,” said Jim McDuffie, acting state director for The Nature Conservancy. “We are pleased to support such an important effort to preserve Florida’s water and land for generations to come.”
The Nature Conservancy, along with thousands of businesses, local governments, conservation organizations, and concerned Floridians, are supporting the Vote Yes on 1 campaign financially.
“With Florida adding almost 700 new residents each day, we must protect our lakes, rivers, springs, beaches, and wetlands now, before they are gone forever,” McDuffie said. “We hope this encourages others who care about protecting our state’s water and natural resources also to contribute to the Vote Yes on 1 campaign.”
Florida’s Water and Land Legacy. Florida’s Water and Land Legacy is the campaign working to win voter approval of Amendment 1, Water and Land Conservation Amendment in November 2014. More than 30,000 Floridians have signed up for Florida’s Water and Land Legacy. The coalition includes more than 400 organizations and businesses from across the state. To learn more about the Amendment 1, Water and Land Conservation please visit www.VoteYesOn1FL.org.
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org

140814-a
Everglades Water Quality Report shows 19th straight year of passing marks
SunshineStateNews.com - by Nancy Smith
August 14, 2014
Everglades restoration – a colossal task starved as much for good press as it is water – received more than a passing grade in one of its indicators Thursday, when water managers announced phosphorus-reduction results for the most recent water year were two times better than expected.
The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) reported to its governing board that the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) -- the farming region between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades – reduced phosphorus by 63 percent in the water leaving the region. The Everglades Forever Act mandates a 25 percent reduction each year. This is the 19th consecutive year that the region has reduced more phosphorus than the goal, according to the district.
 “Everglades restoration relies on a suite of water quality improvement strategies, and BMPs are an essential component,” said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Daniel O’Keefe after the staff presentation. “Reducing phosphorus and exceeding these requirements year after year reflects a long-term commitment to water quality improvements by South Florida’s farmers.”
Sugar farmers, who comprise much of the 470,000-acre region, were quick to react to the good news, crediting their “state-of-the-art farming methods, developed in conjunction with university scientists and unparalleled in the United States” for the success.
Farmers also pointed to the fact the EAA is the only "significant agricultural watershed" in the country that must comply with phosphorus-reduction mandates. According to their statement, the EAA “is the only area that requires each farm to measure and report rainfall, the volume of water leaving each farm and the phosphorus concentration of the water. This requires thousands of laboratory samples every year and the results are without question.”
The SFWMD reports the EAA has averaged 55 percent reduction over the two-decade life of the program. In actual terms, it means 2,854 metric tons of phosphorus have been prevented from reaching the Everglades. The district reported the C-139 basin, west of the EAA, was also in compliance and stopped 28 metric tons of phosphorus from flowing south.
Even so, environmentalists have targeted BMPs, which are part of current litigation. Eric Draper of Audubon Florida, which lost its original challenge against BMPs, said he had not seen Thursday’s report but added, “It's the annual success story the water management district puts out every year to give themselves a pat on the back.”  He said the “limited success” of the BMP program would not affect the group’s appeal of the ruling.
The last line in the restoration system also showed favorable results. Over the past year, according to the SFWMD, the five stormwater treatment areas (STAs), which encompass 57,000 acres of man-made filter marshes, retained 81 percent of the phosphorus from the 1.3 million acre-feet of water that flowed through them. Since their inception, the STAs have cleansed 14.8 million acre-feet of water and removed 1,874 metric tons of phosphorus.
Gov. Rick Scott’s $880 million Everglades Restoration Strategies plan is slated to expand the STAs by an additional 6,500 acres.

140814-b
Massive red tide is growing rapidly in Florida beaches
Your-Story.com
August 14, 2014
The environmental officials in Florida have warned the residents to stay away from the beaches as massive red tide is growing at alarming rate. The red tide has covered most parts near the coastline and is blooming continuously. According to the biologists the algal stretch is one of the largest algal blooming since the year 2005.
The red tide is estimated to stretch over 90 miles long surface in Gulf of Mexico. The algae causing red tide is known as Karenia brevis that grows on water nutrients. Some experts suggest that the red tide releases toxin materials that affect the nervous system of fishes lining in the water resulting in their death. The officials asked the residents to stay away from the coastline as the algal growth can affect humans.
However, biologists also claimed that the toxin released by the algae is not lethal for humans but it can cause rashes and allergies.
Related:           Toxic Red Tide Threatening Tourism and Endangered Manatees     Austrian Tribune

140814-c
Rick Scott and me
FloridaWeekly.com – by Roger Williams
August 14, 2014
I like Rick Scott. I talked to the governor once on the phone and later watched him hand out medals to veterans. He’s a really nice guy.
I’m a nice guy, too.
He wears handmade cowboy boots from the same cobbler who fashions them for Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Texas governor and President George W. Bush. He shakes a lot of hands in those boots.
I used to wear cowboy boots, too, made by Red Wing. I never did much handshaking, but I rode horseback across part of Kansas once and I worked a job on a section crew for the Union Pacific Railroad out of Bonner Springs, in those boots.
That was while Rick Scott was going to law school, which I thought about doing. Briefly.
Rick Scott is bald and 60-something. So am I. Rick Scott was raised in Kansas City. I’ve lived in Kansas City. And Rick Scott goes on hunting trips.
So do I.
I just came back from one last week, in fact — up there in the Rocky Mountains only 800 miles north of the King Ranch in Texas. That’s where Rick Scott and some other Republican leaders from Florida (both the outgoing and the incoming House speakers, the agricultural commissioner and so on) traveled last year to hunt hogs and deer caa courtesy of U.S. Sugar, which holds a 30,000- acre hunting lease on the King Ranch, itself an 825,000-acre operation.
After s they broke this story, some danged snoops from the Tampa Bay Times and Miami M Herald learned Scott a that Rick shot a buck.
I’ve shot deer, too, although on my last trip I only plugged a few cans on the old Nash Ranch in Colorado, while camping out with my son.
Sounds fun, doesn’t it? And it is. It’s fun to be free, like Rick Scott and me.
Rick Scott served his country as a young man in uniform (Navy). So did I (USMC). Rick Scott works hard. So do I. And Rick Scott has a wife and children who appear to love him. So do I, fortunately.
Long and short, Rick Scott is just like Roger Williams-plus-$100-million.
Of course, some minor differences exist between us, as well.
A month after he came back from the Big Shoot with Big Sugar on the Big Ranch, Rick Scott appointed Mitch Hutchcraft to the board of the South Florida Water Management District. A day after I came back from Colorado, I appointed my son to manage the water flowing to the horse trough in our pasture.
I’ve met Mitch Hutchcraft, and he’s another really nice guy. Since 2007, he’s been the vice president in charge of Florida farmlands owned by King Ranch — reported by those Times/ Herald snoops as 60,000 acres in southern Florida alone (40,000 in citrus, 12,000 in sugar and 8,000 in other crops).
King Ranch is now king of the citrus growers in the Sunshine State. The corporation also farms as much as 20,000 acres in the Everglades Agricultural Area, a 700,000- acre scrape that lies mostly south of Lake O.
Like a 20-mile-thick dam, the EAA cuts off the traditional southward flow of water from the lake into the southern Everglades and Florida Bay. It consists of an unnatural topographic tapestry of agricultural fields lying below sea level, canals, and massive pump systems designed for irrigation and water control.
It was originally financed — and it is still maintained — by American and state taxpayers. We also enrich the owners of its sugar harvest with artificial price supports: the Fanjul brothers, U.S. Sugar, and the King Ranch.
All of which means that land owners who “farm” sugar in the Everglades Agricultural Area and elsewhere are merely fat-cat welfare recipients who like to take Republican politicians hunting in Texas — unless they’re women, apparently.
As it turns out, Mitch Hutchcraft used to be one of the top executives of Bonita Bay Properties, a major developer in Lee County, where King Ranch owns significant land on the still-agricultural barrier called Pine Island.
So he shouldn’t have a problem helping to manage the SFWMD just like a moneymaking business — his business. I’m talking about the largest water district in the state, the 16-county public bureaucracy that is now point-man in the Everglades cleanup effort.
Those are the facts. This is also true: Big Sugar executives have spent money in recent years trying to reduce the crap that they pour into our water systems. Their companies also provide jobs, which their mouthpieces are fond of pointing out. And I applaud them for both.
But with Rick Scott’s help they’ve avoided having to clean up the massive damage they’ve already inflicted. That damage now threatens the life of Florida Bay to the south, Charlotte Harbor to the west, and the Indian River Lagoon to the east, where King Ranch is said to be the largest private landowner in Martin County.
Which means that taxpayers have to fix the problem. That’s Rick Scott’s solution. The governor is now suddenly proposing that we spend a billion dollars in the next decade to help solve our water problems.
Curiously, his plan comes a mere three years after he killed hundreds of key regulatory, enforcement and data-gathering positions at water management districts statewide — especially the SFWMD — nearly cutting their budgets in half along with their effectiveness in preventing problems in the first place.
But it’s all good. Not for us, of course, but for U.S. Sugar and the King Ranch. Perhaps that’s why they sponsor hunting trips to the Lone Star State for Republican male politicians from the Sunshine State.
And it may be why Big Sugar has given some $2.2 million to Florida’s Republican party, more than $500,000 of which has gone to the Rick Scott re-election campaign, so far.
It would be worse if these weren’t all such nice guys. Just like me, and probably like you (sorry, ladies). Maybe one day they’ll take us hunting in Texas, too.

140814-d
South Florida growers exceed pollution clean up goal, but standards questioned
Sun Sentinel - by Andy Reid
August 14, 2014
South Florida sugar cane growers and other farmers once again met annual Everglades pollution reduction requirements, but environmental advocates say the state's standards aren't tough enough.
Growers in the vast Everglades Agricultural Area south of Lake Okeechobee averaged 63 percent less polluting phosphorus in water flowing off farms this year than the state-set threshold requires, according to results released Thursday.
That's better than what's allowed by Florida's Everglades Forever Act, which calls for the amount of phosphorus washing off that farmland to be 25 percent less than the levels before pollution-reduction efforts began.
"That's an incredible success," said James Moran, board member for the South Florida Water Management District, which leads Everglades restoration.
But environmental groups say the significance of the pollution reduction is overrated because the pollution benchmark is set too low.
Also, the 63 percent reduction is an average of phosphorus runoff of the nearly 500,000 acre farming region, instead of requiring each individual farm to meet the reduction requirement.
"The name of this game is juggling the numbers," said Charles Lee of Audubon Florida. "Mask the hot spots of pollution. … Things are not the patch of roses they are trying to portray."
Decades of draining South Florida to open the door to farming and development has shrunk the Everglades to half its original size. Also, phosphorus — found in fertilizer, animal waste and the natural decay of soil — washes into the Everglades hurting water quality and threatening remaining animal habitat.
Elevated levels of phosphorus fuel the growth of cattails that crowd out sawgrass and other habitat vital to the Everglades ecosystem.
Growers in Everglades Agricultural Area are required to take pollution-reducing steps such as cleaning out drainage ditches, altering irrigation practices and lessening the use of fertilizer.
After that, water that drains off farmland is directed to the state's stormwater treatment areas, which include 57,000 acres of man-made filter marshes that help absorb much of the remaining phosphorus before water flows into what remains of the Everglades.
Audubon and other environmental advocates maintain that the filter marshes would be more effective if growers were required to do more to clean up stormwater before it reached the treatment areas.
Sugar producers contend that the environmental concerns are off base and say that they are making significant improvements in pollution reductions.
The Everglades Agricultural Area has averaged a 55 percent annual phosphorus reduction since the monitoring requirements began in 1996.
Only once in 19 years have growers in the Everglades Agricultural Area fallen below the 25 percent reduction standard.
"Florida's sugar farmers are doing their share to protect our ecosystem, and for another consecutive year, the results prove it," said Brian Hughes, a spokesman for sugar producers including U.S. Sugar Corp. and Florida Crystals. "We are proud, not just of this year's 63 percent reduction, but also of our two-decade track record of being part of the Everglades restoration solution."

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140813-a
Everglades report shows restoration progress, needs
Sun Sentinel – by Andy Reid
August 13, 2014
An Everglades restoration progress report released Tuesday identifies signs of success as well as a long, expensive to-do list to save Florida's fading River of Grass.
Florida and the federal government are in the midst of a decades-long, multibillion-dollar effort to protect what's left of the Everglades — unique wetlands that provide important animal habitat and also boost South Florida's water supply.
The 2014 Everglades "status report" from state and federal officials finds that initial efforts to restore animal habitat and water flows are working, but that more work is needed to get more water moving south.
"There is some pretty significant evidence being submitted here that Everglades restoration is working," said Eric Draper, Audubon Florida executive director. "We are seeing improvements."
The report comes from the Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District, the federal and state agencies charged with leading Everglades restoration.
The report focuses on Everglades conditions during the past five years and the findings of studies of restoration work now under way. The idea is to compile results that scientists and policy makers can use to determine what to do next.
It is also used to update Congress on restoration progress and to try to build support for the federal and state funding needed to keep it going.
"They look at all of the data [we] have compiled. … It helps them get a more focused look at what's going on," said Jenn Miller, spokeswoman for the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Everglades suffers from decades of draining South Florida to make way for farming and development. That draining shrunk the Everglades to half its size and now phosphorus-laden pollution from farming and urban areas threatens to foul the remaining tree islands, sawgrass marshes and other Everglades habitat.
The state and federal government in 2000 agreed to an Everglades restoration plan that calls for storing more stormwater, cleaning up pollutants and restoring more water flows south to Everglades National Park. But the work has been slowed by funding delays, design changes and political wrangling.
Despite a soggy 2014 and 2013, the past five years have seen drier than usual conditions for the Everglades, according to the report.
The drier conditions increased fire frequency as well as lowered the amount of algae and fish that are key parts of the Everglades food chain, the report said.
Also, the number of tree islands — shared habitats that are connected to almost every species in the Everglades — continue to decline due to strained water supplies.
Signs of improvement from Everglades restoration efforts include native vegetation returning to more of the Picayune Strand, a $620 million project to turn a failed development on the western edge of the Everglades back into native wildlife habitat.
Likewise, the work done at the C-111 canal in Miami-Dade County is helping to get more water flowing to the eastern edges of Everglades National Park, according to the report.
In addition, roseate spoonbills nesting and crocodile nesting is improving due to restoration efforts, according to the report.
Restorations supporters say that one of the biggest needs moving forward is completing the Central Everglades project — a $2 billion effort to remove portions of South Florida levees, fill in canals and increase pumping to redirect more Lake Okeechobee water south toward Everglades National Park.
Congress this year authorized the next wave of long-planned Everglades restoration projects, including the nearly $900 million Broward County Water Preserve Area. But that bill didn't include the Central Everglades plan, which means supporters still need to try to convince Congress to help pay for it.
Florida's shortcomings on meeting federal water quality standards remain a problem in Everglades restoration efforts and should get more attention, according to Draper.
Jump starting the Central Everglades plan, building more water storage to provide alternatives for dumping Lake Okeechobee water out to sea and cleaning up more pollution before it gets into Lake Okeechobee are among the improvements needed, Draper said.
"They are taking a pass on the problem of the pollution getting into the system," Draper said.
Everglades restoration has cost taxpayers at least $3.1 billion so far, with about $2.4 billion of that paid for by Florida taxpayers.

140813-b
Keep Florida on right environmental path
TBO.com - Editorial
August 13, 2014
Although the Florida’s governor race so far has been dominated by personal attacks and negative ads, there is one positive development.
The major candidates all show thoughtful regard for Florida’s environment, which sustains its tourism industry and its quality of life.
This is particularly notable because Gov. Rick Scott displayed scant interest in the issue during his last campaign. He slashed environmental programs during his first year in office.
But we give Scott credit for revisiting his positions. He may never be a Sierra Club favorite, but Scott has shown increasing concern for natural Florida.
Former Gov. Charlie Crist, now running as a Democrat, was a reliable guardian of Florida when serving as a Republican in the Legislature, Cabinet and the governor’s office.
Nan Rich, Crist’s Democratic primary opponent, also has solid credentials.
All this is encouraging but shouldn’t surprise anyone. Florida’s governors have an admirable bipartisan history of being conservationists.
Republican Gov. Claude Kirk created the Department of Environmental Protection and successfully fought the destructive Cross Florida Barge Canal during his tenure in the late 1960s.
His successor, Democrat Reubin Askew, greatly expanded environmental protections, and Democrat Bob Graham then mobilized a state effort to save the Everglades.
Republican Bob Martinez launched a series of environmental initiatives, including the land acquisition program that would become Florida Forever and a comprehensive program to restore Florida’s rivers, lakes and bays. There is a good reason the DEP building in Tallahassee is called the Bob Martinez Center.
Democrat Lawton Chiles also was a staunch advocate of the Everglades and protector of our waters.
Republican Jeb Bush, like Scott, sought to jettison unnecessary regulations, but he also sought to curtail pollution and worked to continue Martinez’s land-buying program, keep oil drilling away from the coast and improve growth management.
Crist, among other things, proposed a major Everglades acquisition and promoted energy conservation.
And Scott, after that first year, has shown more interest in the state’s natural heritage, pushing for Everglades restoration and protecting springs.
Last week, he pledged to spend $1 billion on restoring the Everglades and Apalachicola Bay, cleaning polluted springs, protecting the Florida Keys, safeguarding water supplies and other efforts.
Critics dismiss this as a campaign gimmick, and no doubt politics is involved. But we believe that Scott, a relative newcomer to Florida when elected, also has come to better appreciate its natural gifts and understand how they are threatened.
There is nothing conservative about squandering such treasures.
It is also true, as Scott tells us, that during the recession the tight state budget did not allow for such investments. Now it does.
In any event, the takeaway from all this is that regardless of who voters elect, our next governor will have pledged to safeguard the state’s environment. That is a healthy development for voters and the state.

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Water district official named head of Nature Conservancy
Palm Beach Post
August 13, 2014
The Nature Conservancy has hired Temperince Morgan, a scientist who oversees Everglades policy at the South Florida Water Management District, as executive director.
Morgan will oversee all aspects of the Conservancy’s work in Florida, including protecting critical linkages and springs, increasing the resilience of our coastline and securing water for people and nature.
“I have had the pleasure of living in various parts of the state and have spent my career working on Florida’s conservation, protection and restoration issues,” Morgan said. “I have a genuine understanding of the effects of a healthy environment on the people and economy of Florida.”
Before joining the South Florida Water Management District in 2006, Morgan worked for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection where she oversaw permit processing, compliance and other regulatory coordination with the District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Nature Conservancy, a leading global conservation organization, has worked in Florida for more than 50 years and has aided in protecting more than 1.2 million acres of important lands across the state.
Related:
The Nature Conservancy in Florida Names Temperince Morgan as ...WebWire (press release)

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Just in time for the election, Rick Scott discovers the environment
MSNBC.com - by Steve Benen
August 12, 2014
After four years in office, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has decided he cares about the environment. In fact, the Republican governor unveiled a new policy – his “Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful” plan – intended to expand investment in Everglades restoration, water supplies, and conservation.
An editorial out of Leesburg, Florida, took note of Scott’s sudden change of heart (thanks to reader B.A. for the tip).
…Scott has a problem. His record. As much as Floridians would like to believe the governor wants to become a champion for the environment, his record is inescapable.
He dismantled the state’s growth planning agency and oversaw the weakening of the processes by which Florida controlled its often phenomenal expansion. He cut the Florida Forever program that he now touts by a whopping $305 million in his first budget. And as for water, he slashed the water management budget $700 million, eliminated hundreds of water management jobs and instructed his team to make it easier for businesses to get water consumption permits.
The results were predictable. Florida’s lakes, rivers and shores are more polluted. The Indian River Lagoon is disaster that has taken hundreds of animal lives, all because Lake Okeechobee remains a cesspool for big agriculture and development. All on Scott’s watch.
And this doesn’t even touch on the fact that Florida’s governor has long been a climate denier. Asked recently to explain his perspective, all he could muster was, “I’m not a scientist.”
But that was the old Rick Scott. The new Rick Scott has discovered he loves the environment after all.
So what happened ? The election-year calculus changed.
Rebecca Leber seems to have the right idea.
On the same day Next Generation – Tom Steyer’s political group – announced it would target Scott’s record, the GOP governor tried to bolster his environmental credentials by pledging a new fund to aid conservation efforts and to target polluters.
What changed? Scott’s electorate includes coastal residents who face the front lines of global warming. And as Floridians experience climate change first hand, their understanding of the threat changes. Rather than looking at it as a far-away issue, they begin to feel the impacts in their livelihoods and homes. It’s no wonder that the Republican governor considers it bad politics to dismiss sea level rise when Florida’s entire south coast faces crucial decisions of how to adapt to the changing climate. Outside spending from Steyer has helped to bolster this message, after years of lopsided political spending from fossil fuel groups.
The electoral considerations are amazing, and to a very real degree, heartening. If Scott thought he could stick to his record on the environment and still win, he would, but he and his campaign team clearly believe otherwise.
And so, just three months before the governor faces re-election, Scott decides it’s in his interest to sing a new tune. Leber added, “Florida may turn out to be a case study in how politics is beginning to tip in climate activists’ favor.”
I’d just add that Rick Scott’s “Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful” plan, an obvious election-year gimmick, doesn’t even pay lip service to carbon pollution. Maybe the governor should spend more time with some scientists.
Related:           Diane Roberts: Governor wants voters to believe he's 'born-again ... SaintPetersBlog

140811-a
As Gov. Rick Scott goes 'green,' skeptics see red
Tampa Bay Times – by Steve Bousquet
August 11, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott wants voters to see him in a different light, as in green, for being a true friend of the environment.
Scott spent the past week stressing the theme on a "Let's Keep Florida Beautiful" tour by promising $1 billion for water protection, tougher penalties on polluters, renewed promises to protect the Keys, the Everglades and Apalachicola Bay, and a new staffer in the governor's office to shape policies on water.
Adding credibility to Scott's tour was the man at his side: Eric Draper, a leading voice on the environment as Audubon's Tallahassee lobbyist.
As Draper noted in an interview, he was on hand partly because Scott agreed to spend $20 million to acquire land to protect water quality in the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed or CREW, an Audubon goal for years.
"It's something I've been lobbying the governor on for a long time to get done," Draper said.
The Naples Daily News showed Scott holding his grandson and walking with Draper under the headline "Going green."
The money for the CREW project would come from Florida Forever — a program Scott killed funding for in his first two years in office and provided only token support for the past two years.
On that issue and others, Draper has been critical of Scott, including his $700 million tax cut to water management districts his first year in office and a shake-up in the state Department of Environmental Protection that critics said showed a pro-developer tilt.
"I've seen a shift," Draper said of Scott. "You have to be green to be governor of Florida. Scott recognized that at some point, and started shifting."
Such views make other environmental activists see red.
"It's insane," said Paula Dockery, a columnist and former Republican legislator who was a leader on environmental issues. "Rick Scott has been absolutely awful for the environment." She signed off her latest column with: "Color me skeptical."
Scott has won praise from Everglades advocates for supporting restoration efforts there. But he won't take a position on climate change, though he will meet with a group of climate scientists next week in Tallahassee.
He won't take a stand on Amendment 1 on the fall ballot to set aside billions from an existing tax source to protect land and water, much more than what Scott has promised.
As governor, Scott signed a law that lifted a freeze on new septic tanks. He ran in 2010 in favor of "safe" oil drilling, and dismantled the state's growth management agency his first year in office.
Scott's "beautiful" tour began as billionaire climate change advocate Tom Steyer launched two TV ads portraying Scott as an environmental threat. Scott's campaign threatened legal action, claiming one ad mistakenly accused him of taking campaign money from an oil driller. Activists also cited Scott's personal stake in a firm building a Florida Power & Light natural gas transmission line through Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
Green ?  It looks decidedly gray.

140811-b
Environmental epiphany
Herald Tribune
August 11, 2014
Gov. Scott's new plan conflicts with his record
Gov. Rick Scott has had an epiphany about Florida's environment. Recently, he said that the state's environmental assets are essential to the health and prosperity of Florida, and that he has a billion-dollar plan for saving our beautiful and fragile state from further environmental devastation.
Scott, in a tight campaign for re-election, says he wants to spend $500 million to save Florida's springs and another $500 million to develop alternative water sources. On top of all that, the governor is promising to spend $150 million a year on Florida Forever, the state's all-but-forgotten conservation lands acquisition program.
The governor's promise is one that eco-conscious Floridians want to embrace, to believe. They know their water supply is declining in quantity and quality. They know too many Tallahassee winks and nods to big polluters have harmed the environment more than helped the economy.
That said, Scott has a problem: his record. As much as Floridians would like to believe that the governor wants to become a champion for the environment, his record is inescapable.
He dismantled the state's growth planning agency and oversaw the weakening of the processes by which Florida controlled its often phenomenal expansion. He cut the Florida Forever program that he now touts by a whopping $305 million in his first budget. And as for water, he slashed the water management budget $700 million, eliminated hundreds of water management jobs and instructed his team to make it easier for businesses to get water consumption permits.
The results were predictable. Florida's lakes, rivers and shores are more polluted. The Indian River Lagoon is a disaster that has taken hundreds of animal lives, all because Lake Okeechobee remains a cesspool for big agriculture and development. The Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers has turned green, time and time again, from pollution left unabated. And North Florida's springs are losing the battle to overpumping and overpollution. All on Scott's watch.
When the Legislature finally did take steps to address the state's springs crisis this past session it was dead on arrival in the House, despite near-unanimous support in the Senate, thanks to Speaker Will Weatherford's disingenuous claim that he simply did not want to deal with the "water issue" this year. What did Scott do or say about this missed opportunity ?  Absolutely nothing. His silence was deafening.
The promise of a more pro-environment governor is nice, but Scott has not outlined how he will carry out his 10-year plan in just four years, if he is re-elected. And he has not explained how he would pay for his environmental initiatives or how they would be implemented. Meanwhile, Scott's own water scientists revealed last month that their latest studies show Marion County is over-permitted for water pumping -- to an unsustainable level. We do not have enough water for the near future.
Making a promise to treat the environment better is good politics. But Scott's record on the subject is shameful, and convincing Floridians that he has done a 180-degree turn will be as hard as cleaning up the nitrates in Silver Springs.

140811-c
Massive toxic algae bloom headed towards Florida shore
TheCelebrityCafe.com - by Michelle Kapusta
August 11, 2014
An algae bloom, almost double the size of Rhode Island, has wreaked havoc in Florida’s waters and could wash ashore causing even more damage in the next couple of weeks.
According to Reuters, the red-tide algae near the Florida Panhandle is approximately 80 miles long and 50 miles wide. The algae bloom releases harmful, odorless chemicals that has killed marine life and can cause respiratory problems in humans.
Scientists have said that the toxic bloom could wash up on Florida’s west coast in two weeks.
The Delhi Daily Digest reported that although red-algae bloom is not new to Florida, researchers have begun gathering water samples to try and get a handle on the Karenia brevis bloom issue.
Just last week, it was reported that Toledo, Ohio was also battling an algae problem. Officials there put residents under a tap-water ban that lasted days. Florida authorities have yet to announce such a ban.
So far the red-tide bloom has proved to be fatal to thousands of fish including snapper, grouper, flounder and sharks. The bloom has also killed crabs, eel and octopus.
Related:           Florida Facing Massive Algae Bloom Days After Toledo's Water ...            ValueWalk
Toxic Algae Bloom Larger than Rhode Island Moving Towards Florida      Maine News
Big Patch of Algae Bloom Heading Straight for Florida's West Coast         French Tribune

140809-a
Massive red tide threatens Florida's Gulf Coast
Discovery.com - by Patrick J. Kiger
August 9, 2014
After Toledo had to temporarily ban residents from using tap water last weekend because of a toxic algae bloom on Lake Erie, you probably figured that we’d filled the quota of bad algae-related news for the summer. No such luck, unfortunately. Off the Gulf Coast of Florida, the biggest red tide bloom seen in Florida in nearly a decade already has killed thousands of fish.
The bloom, which contains the microorganism Karenia brevis, may pose a public health threat to Floridians if it washes ashore, which is expected to happen in the next two weeks, according to Reuters.
Could Algae Bloom Threaten Ohio Tap Water Again?
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission says that the tide is approximately 80 miles long and up to 50 miles wide, and currently is between 40 and 90 miles offshore. The state already has received reports from Floridians of thousands of dead and dying creatures being found, ranging from octopus to bull sharks.
Red tide, which happens in other coastal areas as well, is a phenomenon that’s been occurring for centuries. It happens when a naturally occurring algae bloom goes out of control, producing toxins deadly to fish and other marine life.
The odorless chemicals given off by the algae, which stains the water red, also can cause minor respiratory distress in people, such as coughing and wheezing. It’s a greater risk to animals, and not just fish.
Last year, a red tide bloom that was smaller, but closer to shore than the current one is now, killed 276 endangered Florida manatees, according to NBC News. The algae contaminates the sea grasses that the aquatic mammals eat, disrupting their nervous systems and ultimately causing them to drown.
Researchers from the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota have deployed two underwater robots to collect data on the slow-moving bloom.
Related:           VIDEO:  Can Air Pollution Be Good for the Earth ?
Largest Red Tide Bloom in Florida since 2006          French Tribune
Red tide bloom growing and slowly moving South-Southeast          Upstart Magazine

140809-b
Scott's election-year love affair with the environment
DailyCommercial.com
August 9, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott has had an epiphany about Florida’s environment. Last week, he said the state’s environmental assets are essential to the health and prosperity of Florida, and he has a billion-dollar plan for saving our beautiful and fragile state from further environmental devastation.
Scott, in a tight campaign for re-election, says he wants to spend $500 million to save Florida’s springs and another $500 million to develop alternative water sources. On top of all that, the governor is promising to spend $150 million a year on Florida Forever, the state’s all-but-forgotten conservation lands acquisition program.
The governor’s promise is one that eco-conscious Floridians want to embrace, to believe. They know their water supply is declining in quantity and quality. They know too many Tallahassee winks and nods to big polluters have harmed the environment more than helped the economy.
That said, Scott has a problem. His record. As much as Floridians would like to believe the governor wants to become a champion for the environment, his record is inescapable.
He dismantled the state’s growth planning agency and oversaw the weakening of the processes by which Florida controlled its often phenomenal expansion. He cut the Florida Forever program that he now touts by a whopping $305 million in his first budget. And as for water, he slashed the water management budget $700 million, eliminated hundreds of water management jobs and instructed his team to make it easier for businesses to get water consumption permits.
The results were predictable. Florida’s lakes, rivers and shores are more polluted. The Indian River Lagoon is disaster that has taken hundreds of animal lives, all because Lake Okeechobee remains a cesspool for big agriculture and development. All on Scott’s watch.
When the Legislature finally did take steps to address the state’s springs crisis this past session it was dead on arrival in the House, despite near-unanimous support in the Senate, thanks to Speaker Will Weatherford’s disingenuous claim that he simply did not want to deal with the “water issue” this year. What did Scott do or say about this missed opportunity? Absolutely nothing.
The promise of a more pro-environment governor is nice, but Scott has not outlined how he will carry out his 10-year plan in just four years, if he is re-elected. And he has not explained how he would pay for his environmental initiatives or how they would be implemented.
Making a promise to treat the environment better is good politics. But Gov. Scott’s record on the subject is shameful.

140808-
Corps releases Central Everglades report
Palm Beach Post - by Christine Stapleton, Staff Writer
The Army Corps of Engineers today released its long-awaited revised report on the Central Everglades Planning Project.
“All of the recommended revisions to the report have been completed and approved and we’re now moving forward with public, state and agency review,” said Jacksonville District commander Col. Alan Dodd. “The release of this report is a significant milestone for CEPP and reflects the extraordinary efforts of so many to successfully address complex issues and produce this quality report.”
The goal of CEPP is to capture water lost to tide and re-direct the water flow south to restore the central and southern Everglades ecosystem and Florida Bay. The Corps is jointly conducting this planning effort in partnership with the South Florida Water Management District.
The Corps’ Civil Works Review Board (CWRB) unanimously approval the release the 386-page report for state and agency review once their recommended revisions were incorporated into the report. The CWRB serves as a corporate check to ensure the report is ready for state and agency review.
Comments will be accepted through Sept. 8 and can be submitted via email to CEPPcomments@usace.army.mil or mailed to: Dr. Gretchen Ehlinger, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 4970, Jacksonville, FL 32232-0019.

140808-b
DEP targets springs for improvement projects
Tallahassee Democrat – by Jennifer Portman
August 8, 2014
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced Friday nearly $70 million in proposed projects to improve 14 of the state’s imperiled signature springs.
The $69 million for the proposed spring system projects were leveraged by $30 million recommended by Gov. Rick Scott in his budget this year, DEP officials said in a news release.
Among the projects are four targeting improvements at Wakulla Springs, as well as other springs in northwest Florida, including the Econfina, Homes Creek and Jackson Blue. Other popular springs, including the Ichetucknee, Fanning, Silver and Wekiva springs also are slated for improvement projects.
Projects specifics were not immediately available. DEP officials said the project plan was developed in collaboration with regional water management districts, community leaders and other interested parties.
“The health of our springs is a top priority of the department. Protecting these natural resources by identifying and funding springs projects is critical to their protection and restoration,” Drew Bartlett, Deputy Secretary for Water Policy and Ecosystem Restoration, said in the release. “These projects illustrate what can be accomplished when the state invests wisely to support and supplement department and water management district restoration programs.”
DEP said the goal of the plan is to address water quality and water quantity problems by supporting both urban and agricultural projects where springs naturally occur. The projects were selected based on pollutant reduction, water quantity conservation, cost effectiveness and available matching grant funding.
Related:           Gov. Scott announces distribution plan for springs' money   Sunshine State News

140808-d
Of sugar, bucks and paybacks
StAugustine.com – by Carl Hiaasen
August 8, 2014
Back when he first ran for governor as a self-styled outsider, Rick Scott lambasted his opponent in the Republican primary for taking campaign money from U.S. Sugar, one of the worst corporate polluters of the Everglades.
Scott indignantly squeaked that Bill McCollum had been “bought and paid for” by U.S. Sugar. He said the company’s support of McCollum was “disgusting.”
“I can’t be bought,” Scott declared.
Seriously, that’s what the man said. Stop gagging and read on.
Four years later, the governor’s re-election campaign is hungrily raking in money from U.S. Sugar, more than $534,000 so far.
Exactly when Scott overcame his disgust isn’t clear, but in February of 2013 he and undisclosed others jetted to the King Ranch in Texas for a hog- and deer-hunting junket on U.S. Sugar’s 30,000-acre lease.
Apparently this has become a secret tribal rite for some top Florida Republicans. Exposed last week by reporters Craig Pittman and Michael Van Sickler of the Tampa Bay Times, the politicians ran like jackrabbits for the hills.
All questions were redirected to the state Republican Party, which couldn’t get its story straight. “Fundraising” wound up as the official explanation for the free pig-shooting sorties.
Scott refused to field questions about the King Ranch shindig. A spokesman said the governor covered his own air flight and hunting license.
Days later, a bit more information: Scott shot a buck deer on the trip, his flak said, and paid the taxidermist out of his own pocket. What a guy!
A month after his secret safari, the governor appointed an executive of King Ranch’s Florida agricultural holdings to the board of the South Florida Water Management District, the agency supposedly supervising the Everglades cleanup.
The inner circle, you see, goes unbroken.
Agriculture Secretary Adam Putnam was so mortified to be asked about his King Ranch excursions that he slithered behind a door that was then shut in a reporter’s face.
Slick move. Putnam is the same social butterfly who once criticized the state law forbidding elected officeholders from accepting gifts like free trips, booze and meals. Putnam lamented that the ban was “a disincentive for fellowship.”
Thwarting the statutory gift ban has been accomplished by letting the political parties operate as money launderers for special interests. U.S. Sugar, for example, gives tons of cash to the Republican Party of Florida, which then spreads it around to Scott, Putnam and other candidates for purported political expenses.
The King Ranch, which has its own sugar and cattle holdings in Florida, has also hosted GOP House Appropriations Chair Seth McKeel and Dean Cannon when he was House speaker.
The current House speaker, Will Weatherford, and the incoming speaker, Steve Crisafulli, have both received Texas hunting licenses, although they won’t say if they’ve been to the King spread.
Florida has an abundance of deer and wild hogs, but an out-of-state safari offers the appeal of seclusion and anonymity.
Interestingly, no Republican senators or Democratic leaders appear to have participated in the King Ranch fly outs. Former Gov. Charlie Crist, Scott’s likely opponent in November, has taken contributions from Big Sugar, but said he’s never been to the ranch.
Buying off politicians with hunting and fishing trips is an old tradition in Tallahassee, interrupted by the occasional embarrassing headline followed by flaccid stabs at reform.
Nobody believes the absurd GOP party line saying that the King Ranch hunting jaunts are “fundraisers.” They’re just free (or heavily discounted) vacations.
You really can’t blame Big Sugar or its lobbyists. They know who and what they’re dealing with; the only issue is the price.
The company has given more than $2.2 million to Republican candidates in the 2014 election cycle, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t get its money’s worth.
Taxpayers, not the sugar tycoons, remain stuck with most of the cost of cleaning up the Everglades. Every time someone tries to make the polluters pay a larger share, the idea gets snuffed in Tallahassee.
Meanwhile the politicians who could make it happen are partying in Texas with the polluters — shootin’ at critters, smokin’ cigars, sippin’ bourbon around the fire. Hell, maybe there’s even a steam bath.
These are the people controlling the fate of the Everglades. They’ve been bought and paid for, just like Rick Scott said four years ago. Now he’s one of them.
His staff won’t say why he changed his mind about taking Big Sugar’s money. It also won’t say where he put the stuffed head of that buck he killed at the King Ranch.
The bathroom wall would be a fitting place, hanging right over the toilet where he flushed his integrity.

140808-e
Scott, Crist also squabble over environmental issues
Orlando Sentinel – by Aaron Deslatte
August 8, 2014
TALLAHASSEE — There is yet another policy arena in which neither of Florida's leading gubernatorial candidates seems to keep his hands clean: the environment.
Republican Gov. Rick Scott has been touring the state to promote a new environmental plan for more spending on conservation and heftier fines for polluters. This is the same man who in 2010 campaigned on deregulating development and gutting water-management districts.
Democratic rival Charlie Crist has been touting sunshine and solar power, while — the GOP has been giddy to point out — traveling with developers on planes cited for causing pollution.
"There's a distinction between the two of us running for governor," Crist told reporters last month after meeting with climate scientists in Tallahassee. "I believe in science."
The political science suggests environmentalism can be a successful wedge issue in places where climate risk is particularly acute, such as Miami, where climatologists fear sea-level rise could risk catastrophic damage during the next century.
Scott's plan signals his intent to keep trudging along on Everglades restoration; developing an Indian River Lagoon plan; spending more to clean up wastewater in the Keys; and increasing fines for oil and gas companies, among other polluters.
Scott has taken a beating on environmental issues this summer, from his one-time investment in a company with ties to oil drilling in the Everglades to his refusal to meet with climatologists about global warming. Despite a weeklong tour on the environment, Scott's campaign said he still couldn't sync up his schedule for climatologists who have extended him an open invitation to brief him on global warming.
His 10-year, $1 billion campaign pledge to protect Florida's waters is splashy.
But voters might beat him to it.
Amendment 1 on the Nov. 4 ballot would steer far more money into water protection — more than $700 million annually on water and conservation projects, a figure that would grow to more than $1.3 billion annually during two decades.
And Florida is already spending close to what Scott wants: at least $637 million in water- and land-protection programs, including money for Everglades and Indian River Lagoon cleanup.
Scott is pitching spending $50 million a year on springs. This year, lawmakers budgeted $30 million, and some will push for as much as $200 million annually in the future.
One piece of Scott's plan is to raise fines for polluters to scale with the damage they cause. Scott has called it "ridiculous" that oil and gas production facilities can be fined only $10,000 a day for violations when the economic costs they inflict could be "exponentially higher."
In a second term, he said he'll push for higher fines to "ensure fines match the value of Florida's natural resources," and give agencies more flexibility to review the track records of companies before granting permits.
The rollout comes just weeks after Scott's Department of Environmental Protection filed suit against an oil company using fracking techniques in the Everglades after the agency had approved the project months earlier. With those "tougher penalties for bad actors, we'll ensure that Florida's treasures are protected for generations to come," Scott said.
Crist also has a checkered history on environmental advocacy. As governor, he pushed for more solar-energy programs and organized a climate-change summit, only to abandon it once he started running for the U.S. Senate.
Still, Crist says that, compared to Scott, he's a much cleaner candidate.
"I'm not the candidate who wants to drill in the Florida Everglades," Crist said.

140808-f
State economists say Florida on pace for $1 billion surplus next year
Miami Herald - by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
August 8, 2014
TALLAHASSEE -- Economists slightly lowered their forecast of tax dollars flowing into the state but still project lawmakers to be on track to have at least a $1 billion surplus for the next budget.
Members of the Revenue Estimating Conference lowered their outlook — last made in March — due in part to changes in revenues such as corporate-income taxes, real-estate taxes and highway-safety fees.
Chief economist Amy Baker, who directs the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research, said Thursday that the economy remains in good shape, calling the drop “uneventful.”
“Growth in revenue, even though it’s a little less than where we started today, is still $1 billion,” Baker said.
The forecast of general revenue plays a critical role for state lawmakers as they designate tax dollars to schools, health programs and prisons in Florida’s annual budget. Lawmakers will meet in the spring to draw up a budget for the 2015-16 fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2015.
The economists look at numerous indicators to estimate revenues over several years. The new report shows that revenues during the recently ended 2013-14 fiscal year were $106.7 million below a March estimate. Revenues for the current fiscal year are projected to be $49.2 million over the earlier estimate. And revenues for the 2015-16 fiscal year were projected to be $84.1 million lower than what was estimated in March.
Sen. Andy Gardiner, an Orlando Republican who is slated to become Senate president after the November election, called the new estimates a positive sign for the state’s economy.
“It was not long ago that with each successive estimating conference we learned how much we had to cut from the budget in order to stay in the black,” Gardiner said in a prepared statement.
Gardiner, who has made protecting the state’s water resources one of the priorities for his term as president, added that the projected revenue growth will help the state invest in “education, transportation infrastructure, and environmental restoration and preservation initiatives.”
House Appropriations Chairman Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, called the new numbers “very modest fluctuations.”
Helping offset the declines are projected increases in revenue from sales taxes and insurance-premium taxes, Baker said.
In the most recently completed fiscal year, which ended June 30, taxable sales exceeded the previous peak reached in fiscal year 2006-07.
But other revenues have been affected by issues related to real estate and slower growth compared to the 1990s and early 2000s.
Baker said that while homes sales have shown noticeable signs of improvement, the median sales price has lagged, resulting in a slower increase in the state’s documentary stamp tax revenues — fees paid when real estate is sold.
“We’re 92, 94, 95-percent of where we were in 2005, which was the peak year (for home sales),” Baker said. “But doc stamp collection is 40 percent of where we were in 2005.”
The next forecast is expected to be made in December, and those numbers will be used in drawing up the governor’s proposed 2015-16 budget. The conference will meet again in March during the legislative regular session.

140807-a
Charlie's answer on water: He's not even tepid
Sunshine State News - by Nancy Smith
August 7, 2014
If only Charlie Crist knew more about water. Just once I'd like to hear him throw away the campaign talking points and show me he understands Everglades restoration strategies. I think I'd feel better about him.
Charlie took to Facebook Wednesday to answer Floridians' questions. I'll go easy on him because it had to be an exhaustive exercise no matter how much help he had on the answers. But on one issue -- water -- draining Lake Okeechobee water into rivers, he produced one of his non-answer answers to a most important environmental question, one that deserved a thoughtful, truthful, bs-less reply.
It shouldn't go unnoticed or unaddressed.
This is the Facebook entry:
"Alex van Duijn. Hey, Charlie! What are your thoughts about the draining of water from Okeechobee into the Calusahatchee (sic.) River? Do you have a solution to this problem?
"Charlie Crist. It's a nightmare.This was happening when I ran for governor before. After I won in 06, appointed members to the Water Management District that committed to stopping it. Amazingly, both the Calusahatchee (sic.) and St. Lucie rivers started to clean up quickly. We can do it again. And if elected, I will. Thank you."
I've heard Charlie say this before, which is why I bring it up now. At the Associated Press editors' briefing at the start of the 2014 legislative session, Charlie made his first appearance before the Capitol press corps in nearly four years. During the question-and-answer exchange, reporter Gray Rohrer of the Florida Independent asked Charlie what specific plan he had to manage Okeechobee, to help prevent another devastating summer of lake releases.
Charlie then told a story of spending much of his honeymoon on the phone with Water Management District members, people he knew he could trust. "And It was bad out there, but I called my water management team and together ... walking us through that terrible crisis. ... they got us over it."
Now, I'm not saying Charlie's pants are on fire, but he and Carole were married in December 2008, the dry season -- and their honeymoon immediately followed the wedding. Neither meteorologists nor Farmer's Almanac could offer evidence of a damaging rain event in the fall or winter of 2008. In fact, the lake was still lower than normal from the record drought year of 2007.
Though Charlie didn't give his Facebook answer the same cute little honeymoon touch he gave editors earlier in the year, he did seem to be saying -- again -- that his Water Management District appointees were better than Gov. Rick Scott's. Apparently Scott's can't handle a crisis. But if Charlie's appointees are calling the shots for the next four years instead of  Scott's, well, happy days are here again for the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers.
Believe none of it, folks. As good as the Water Management District board members and staff are/were under either governor, they don't, or didn't, get to manage the lake discharges. That's the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' job.
Back to Facebook Q&A's. Alex van Duijn asked Charlie for his solution. Sorry, but I honestly don't think he has one, and instead plans to delegate finding a water solution.
Alex didn't ask me, but this is how I see the ultimate solution:
We take a lesson from history, go back to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). It's all about timing, flow and distribution.
Real storage is needed north of the lake -- repeat, north of the lake -- to help attenuate flow.
More important, the local basin projects will help the estuaries dramatically. That means we have to build and fund the C-43 and C-44 reservoir. It was Charlie who deep-sixed Accerler8 in favor of his new shiny dime -- the purchase of U.S. Sugar property that mostly dissolved as the economy tanked.
The A-1 reservoir was deep storage that would also help. That’s gone forever as part of Everglades restoration strategies.
The system needs to be looked at holistically -- not from the perspective of one estuary or the other. Or water supply vs. water quality. Trade-offs will need to be made, but they need to be thoughtful. CERP promised to capture water loss to tide (preventing damaging releases), enlarge the water pie so one user group (ag, urban or natural systems) didn’t need to compete with the other, and distribute flow in a more natural way through decompartmentalization.
The state had undertaken and fast-tracked all these steps under Gov. Jeb Bush.
If Charlie is looking to claim a solution, he's got one. He's had it all along.

140807-b
Gov. Scott touts environmental plan in Jacksonville
FirstCoastNews.com – by Jacob Long
August 7, 2014
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Florida Governor Rick Scott is making big promises to voters in an effort to win a second term this fall.
Scott, a Republican, made a brief campaign stop at Clapboard Creek Fish Camp Marine on Heckscher Drive and was joined by a handful of supporters and staffers.
It was the seventh such stop Scott has made this week as he touts a recently unveiled environmental plan his campaign is calling "Let's Keep Florida Beautiful."
The plan totals $1 billion and calls for a $500 million commitment to alternative water supplies and another $500 commitment to springs restoration over 10 years.
It also calls for continued improvements to be made at the Everglades. Scott said all of the work would be a priority for him if he is re-elected.
"Florida's natural beauty is a big reason why this is the best state in the country to call home. Our natural resources are the foundation of our economy. They drive tourism, housing, business, and agriculture. And they deserve our long-term commitment," he said.
Scott also said he intends to meet with a group of experts and scientists on climate change, an issue he has widely been criticized over in the past.
First Coast News asked the Governor where he stands on the issue now, to which he said, "I'm not qualified to do that."
Scott's environmental plan would need cooperation on spending from lawmakers at the capitol.
Right now, he is locked in a heated re-election campaign. Former Florida Governor Charlie Christ, a Democrat, has made a point to challenge Scott on his environmental record.
Published reports also said Scott revealed his "Let's Keep Florida Beautiful" initiative at the same time a wealthy activist was pledging to target him on his environmental record.
Related:           Gov. Rick Scott touts environment plan, says he's not scared of ...   RenewablesBiz
Governor Wants More Money for Environment, Remains Vague on ...        WMFE
Thursday: Is Gov. Scott's environmental concern sincere ?   Sun-Sentinel
Florida's Governor Scott takes some steps on environment but ...     Clean Energy News

140807-
How much do hurricanes hurt the economy ?
MotherJones.com – by Rebecca Rosen
August 7, 2014
Researchers say that over the long run, worsening storms could cost us trillions.
This story originally appeared on The Atlantic and is republished here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
As climate change increases the intensity and (possibly) the frequency of major coastal storms, what will be the economic consequences?
Answering this question requires two big pieces of information: the economic consequences of such storms (typhoons, hurricanes, and tropical cyclones) and the patterns of those storms in the years ahead. As it turns out, it's that first bit—the economic consequences of storms—that was difficult to pin down.
For years economists have debated whether destructive storms are even bad for a country's economy. To a non-economist, the ill effects of a storm might seem intuitive, but economists have a knack for finding plausible counterintuitive explanations. When it comes to a major natural disaster, they had four competing hypotheses: Such a disaster might permanently set a country back; it might temporarily derail growth only to get back on course down the road; it might lead to even greater growth, as new investment pours in to replace destroyed assets; or, possibly, it might yet even better, not only stimulating growth but also ridding the country of whatever outdated infrastructure was holding it back. Woohoo.
Interesting theories, but time to test them out against some empirical data. And that's what economists Solomon M. Hsiang of the University of California-Berkeley and Amir S. Jina of Columbia set out to do in a paper released this week.
Hsiang and Jina looked at 6,712 cyclones, typhoons, and hurricanes observed from 1950 to 2008 and the economic fortunes of the countries they struck in the years that followed. With their data, Jina and Hsiang can decisively say: These storms are bad—very bad—for economic growth.
"There is no creative destruction," Jina told me. "These disasters hit us and [their effects] sit around for a couple of decades." He added, "Just demonstrating that that was true was probably the most interesting aspect for me to start with."
Hsiang and Jina find that such storms (which they group under the umbrella term "cyclones") can be as bad as some of the worst sorts of man-made economic challenges. A cyclone of a magnitude that a country would expect to see once every few years can slow down an economy on par with "a tax increase equal to one percent of GDP, a currency crisis, or a political crisis in which executive constraints are weakened." For a really bad storm (a magnitude you'd expect to see around the world only once every 10 years), the damage will be similar "to losses from a banking crisis." The very worst storms—the top percentile—"have losses that are larger and endure longer than any of those previously studied shocks."
Here's a little chart they made comparing these different sorts of disasters:
The effects are lasting: Overall, they find that "each additional meter per second of annual nationally-averaged wind exposure lowers per capita economic output 0.37 percent 20 years later" (emphasis added). Put simply, economies "do not recover in the long run."
So what does this mean for a planet with a changing climate?
Projections for storm patterns as the planet's climate morphs are, as Jina put it, "a very complex area." How do you choose which model to rely on ? You go with, Jina says, "the best": those of Kerry Emanuel at MIT, world expert on cyclone patterns.
When they meshed their backward-looking empirical calculations with Emanuel's forward-looking projections, the number they got was startling: $9.7 trillion—the present discounted value "of expected losses due to enhanced cyclone activity" if we don't take any action to dial back greenhouse gas emissions. (This is the calculation they make at the 95 percent confidence interval, though the figure could range from $3.9 trillion to $15.5 trillion.)
"For me," Jina says, "it is a very convincing argument to say that we need to mitigate as much climate change as we can."

140807-d
Invasive species use migratory corridors to occupy new habitats
Dumb-out.net – by Deborah Paulson, Science
August 7, 2014
According to a new study, wildlife corridors can also act as avenues to spread invasive species. The corridors, meant to link different animal habitats which are separated by human activity, can be used by wildlife species including Cuban tree frogs and green iguanas to occupy new habitats. The study findings are published in the journal Ecology.
The findings by the University of Florida researchers are particularly important to Florida where several invasive wildlife species are an ecological problem.
The study’s lead author, Julian Resasco, says that although the corridors are useful they sometimes have negative effects. They can help invasive species migrate in the same way that is desirable for other animal species.
The findings were a surprise to the researchers since invasive species are known to be ‘skilled’ at occupying new habitats without using the migratory corridors.
For the study, the researchers studied 8 areas in South Carolina. Each of the areas was dominated by at least one social form of fire ants.
Each section had five patches of habitats. A patch was equivalent to the size of a football field. Some patches had corridors connecting them whereas other did not have to allow the researchers determine the effect of migratory corridors.
They found that corridors increased the population of the polygyne ants. This species travel over short distances to create new colonies. The presence of the corridors affected the population of other ant species. In patches that had corridors the population of native ants were lower.
The study comes at a time when there are plans to create a wildlife corridor to connect Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Everglades National Park. A group of explores will embark on an expedition to garner support for the corridor named Florida Wildlife Corridor.
Resasco says the characteristics of the local species should be considered before making a decision.
Related:           Linked Habitats Risk: Wildlife Corridors Help Invasive Species Spread      Science 2.0

140807-e
Watchdog group blasts DEP for weak enforcement
Tallahassee Democrat – by Jennifer Portman
August 7, 2014
As Gov. Rick Scott begins his “Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful” election-year tour, a watchdog group has found enforcement efforts by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection have reached all-time lows.
An annual report compiled by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility from public records found DEP initiated only 210 enforcement actions against polluters in 2013, a decline of more than 80 percent in the number of cases the agency opened in 2008. DEP oversees about 75,000 permits statewide.
The report, released Thursday, also found only 153 cases last year resulted in the agency imposing corrective action or monitoring, an 88-percent drop in enforcement actions since 2010. The declines were noted in every DEP district and every form of pollution enforcement, the report said, except for the underground injection program, which brought one new case in 2013, the same as it did in 2012.
“These latest numbers are beyond pathetic, they are downright shocking,” Florida PEER Director Jerry Phillips, a former DEP enforcement attorney who compiled the figures, said in a statement. “My concern is that DEP enforcement capacity may have atrophied so much that the agency is irretrievably broken.”
DEP officials defended the agency’s record. Agency spokeswoman Tiffany Cowie said in an email that compliance rates across the department’s regulatory programs are at an all-time high, which she attributed to an uptick in outreach efforts to businesses. She said in 2013 alone, DEP participated in more than 5,800 events in an effort to increase compliance rates.
“DEP’s focus is preventing environmental harm before it occurs,” she said.
As a result of the agency’s outreach and education efforts, she said the number of facilities in significant compliance with DEP rules and regulations increased from 90.1 percent in 2011 to 96 percent last year.
“We believe in prevention — what we can do to prevent impacts to our natural resources,” Cowie added. “We work with companies allowing them to maintain compliance. If they try to bend or break the rules, we’ll take action and use every tool at our disposal for holding bad actors accountable.”
The PEER report, however, concluded the 2013 data “unequivocally points to an across-the-board dismantling” of DEP’s enforcement program.
“What seems to be left is a skeletal program that is in place solely for the purpose of initiating enforcement only in those situations in which the department cannot look the other way,” the report said. “We would expect this trend to continue until (DEP) Sec. Hershel Vinyard and his senior management team are replaced with managers who actually care about protecting Florida’s environment.”
On the campaign trail this week, Scott said his re-election environmental plan — which would feature a $1-billion investment in Florida’s waters, and an additional $500 million each for alternative water supplies and springs restoration — also would include allowing DEP to issue “tougher penalties for polluters and bad actors.”
Florida PEER’s Phillips said the state doesn’t need new laws to protect to the environment, it needs proper enforcement for the ones it has already.
“To date, Gov. Scott has been the best friend pollution bad actors could possibly have,” he said. “If he is going to turn over a new leaf for re-election, he needs to start by immediately rebuilding his dismantled DEP and bringing in new agency leadership.

140806-a
Big Sugar and big holes in gift laws
Tallahassee.com – by Bill Cotterell
August 6, 2014
We used to have a reporter covering the Florida Legislature’s 1992 gifts-and-trips scandal who’d shake her head and wonder why legislators couldn’t figure out what moms tell their daughters at an early age:
When a guy asks you out to dinner, she said, it’s not your nutrition that interests him.
Looking back, there’s almost a quaint charm to the way about two dozen legislators pleaded no contest and paid $500 fines for borrowing a lobbyist’s credit card to take family and committee staff to dinner, accepting a set of golf clubs or jetting off to a plush hunting lodge to drink booze and shoot quail. After trying various spending caps and shifting the disclosure requirement from the recipients to the donors, legislators finally came up with a total “gift ban.”
It forbids lawmakers to take so much as a hamburger or cup of coffee from a lobbyist, or anyone employing a lobbyist. That felt good, indicating that legislators finally grasped that adage, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
Periodic attempts to relax the ban have met with public umbrage, and legislators back off hastily.
What the gift ban does not ban, though, is bribery. The lobbyists just have to launder the money through the political parties now, rather than publicly grabbing a legislator’s bar tab.
The Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald reported last month that U.S. Sugar spent more than $95,000 since late 2011 on at least 20 weekend hunting trips for powerful state leaders, including Gov. Rick Scott, at the fabled King Ranch in Texas. The sugar giant leased 30,000 acres at the ranch for a well-stocked hunting preserve. The papers’ Capitol bureau said King Ranch has 12,500 acres of sugar cane in Florida and has contributed $27,500 to the Republican Party of Florida, Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and GOP candidates in the past two years.
And what did the company get in return? Why, nothing but good fellowship and a chance to spend some time outdoors with some really swell guys. Oh, and the Legislature passed a little bill that saves the industry millions on Everglades-clean up costs.
But that might have happened anyway — just like when you give Publix $4.15 and the store lets you leave with a gallon of milk, it’s not necessarily a quid pro quo. It’s not like you actually said the words to complete the sale.
The newspapers later reported that Scott appointed a King Ranch sugar executive to the board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the agency overseeing the Everglades. The governor’s people responded that the man was recommended by some environmentalists.
The sweetener to all of this is that U.S. Sugar has given more than $534,000 to Scott’s re-election campaign. Overall, the company has sprinkled more than $2.2 million on Republican candidates in the current election cycle.
Scott is the governor who, just four years ago, called Attorney General Bill McCollum “bought and paid for” by Big Sugar — when Scott was running against McCollum for the GOP nomination. The newspapers reported, incidentally, that U.S. Sugar had invested $680,000 in McCollum, who looked like a winner back then, as Scott was an unknown challenger spending his own millions on his campaign.
The gift ban applies only to treats for individual legislators. A lobbyist can go Dutch at lunch with a lawmaker, while handing over a stack of checks from corporate clients.
In essense, if you’re a House or Senate member, you can dine with a lobbyist and take $5,000 or $10,000 or more in separate donations from each of the lobbyist’s clients and their associates — so long as you pay for your own meal.
But that doesn’t apply to the political parties. The King Ranch trips, along with Texas hunting licenses bought for legislative leaders, were paid for by the Republican Party of Florida, which can take unlimited money from donors — even during legislative sessions, when lawmakers themselves can’t.
The RPOF refuses to discuss fundraising, with a code of omerta that makes the bosses of the five Mafia families look like those Chatty Cathys on “The View.”
If the Democrats ever regain power in the Capitol, they’ll do it, too. But for now, they’re not worth bribing. The rule of thumb on these things is usually one token dollar to the Democrats for every $3 or $4 kicked back to the GOP.
Maybe “kicked back” is too strong a term. There’s one key difference between political fundraising and bribery.
Bribery is illegal.

140806-b
Experts: Red tide may approach shoreline
WTSP.com – by Isabel Mascareñas
August 6, 2014
Several agencies re tracking the red tide bloom and is moving southeast in the Gulf.
Sarasota, Florida -- A three-day research cruise studying the largest red tide bloom associated with a fish kill since 2006 is back. What have the scientists learned so far ?
"FWC and information by the Center of Prediction there's an anticipation some of the bloom could make it near shore in the next several weeks," says Dr. Vince Lovko, program director for Phytoplankton Ecology Program with Mote Marine Laboratories.
UPDATES: Check here for red tide updates
Lovko joined scientists from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the University of South Florida on the R/VV Bellows and studied the front or south end of the bloom and east and west edges.
"So we can look at the conditions outside of the bloom compare to inside the bloom help us understand the water column conditions that influence the movement," Lovko said.
INFO: FWC red tide information on Facebook
Researchers covered a 2,000-square-mile area about 70 miles offshore, stopping at 24 stations and taking water samples from five depths, according to Mote, and they found the movement is slow but heading southeast.
Scientists from several agencies took samples from the red tide bloom off of Hernando.
"Did see scattered dead fish in the area of the bloom see areas of stratification low oxygen density at the bottom," Lovko said.
Lovko says they spotted the red tide algae called Karenia brevis at about 60 feet down. But it has been spotted even deeper.
Scientists are getting help from two robotic gliders from Mote named Waldo and Bass. The gliders are out in the bloom gathering information.
Mote scientists say Waldo is off Hernando County and has detected Karenia brevis at about 82 feet down. Bass is taking readings from the outer edge of the bloom and has detected the red tide algae up to 131 feet deep.
The robotic gliders can reach depths scientists can't. Dr. Kellie Dixon, manager of Mote's Ocean Technology program, give a real time view of Waldo's location.
"Right now Waldo is going down and up every two hours. He's doing repetitive yo-yo effect. He floats up he comes to the surface sticks his fin out of the water and sends us this data," she said.
Dixon says Waldo is expected to finish its mission this week and Bass should wrap up its research in two three weeks.
Scientists with Mote Marine say they may have some results next week but it will take longer to study all the data collected.

140806-c
Gov. Scott pitches environment ideas
 Palm Beach Post – by Christine Stapleton
August 6, 2014
STUART ­— Gov. Rick Scott took the political offensive on the environment Monday, unveiling a 10-year, $1 billion water policy he said he would enact if re-elected in November.
In a campaign trip to Republican-friendly Martin County and Jupiter, Scott announced his environmental platform, called Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful, which would spend $500 million on alternative water supply projects needed to ensure an adequate water supply as more people and industries move to Florida and $500 million on restoring natural springs in central and northern Florida.
The plan lines up with natural springs legislation proposed for 2015 and with a proposed constitutional amendment that will go before voters this fall. The ballot issue, known as Amendment 1, is intended to dedicate funding for the environment in the state budget, although Scott said Monday he has not decided whether he will support the proposed amendment.
“I understand the one side of committing dollars to this, and I understand the other side, that I want to make sure we have money for schools, for poverty programs, for health care and all those things,” Scott said.
If funding doesn’t come from the amendment, Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful’s 10-year span raises questions about how some of its projects would be funded in the six years after a Scott second term would end.
“With the legislature there is never any guarantee from year to year,” said Eric Draper, Executive Director of Audubon Florida, who travelled from Tallahassee to appear with Scott at the event in Jupiter.
Draper is also on the board of Vote Yes on 1, a coalition of state environmental groups backing Amendment 1, which would earmark one-third of the state’s documentary stamp tax dollars, drawn from real estate transactions, for conservation, management and restoration of Florida’s water and land for 20 years, beginning in July 2015. The proposed amendment was put on the ballot by a citizens’ petition.
Draper said administration officials have acknowledged that money raised by the amendment would jibe with initiatives in Scott’s environmental plan. If passed, the amendment could become a stable source of funding for the projects because as part of the constitution, the money raised from the doc stamps would not be subject to the legislature’s approval every year.
Among the initiatives in Scott’s second-term plan are:
— An executive order “bringing together stakeholders” to plan water quality actions with his administration.
■ A position in the governor’s office to work with Florida’s congressional delegation to ensure Central Everglades projects are included in future funding bills.
■ A recommendation for an additional $100 million for Florida Keys waste water projects and to establish an Apalachicola Bay advisory council to coordinate restoration and preservation efforts.
■ Lobbying Congress for matching funds to complete the C-43 and C-44 water storage projects.
■ Creation of an Indian River Lagoon Estuary Program to give scientists and advocates a platform to participate in restoration planning.
■ Increased penalties against polluters to ensure the penalties match natural resources that are damaged or destroyed.
When asked if unveiling Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful initiative was now part of his campaign strategy, Scott answered by taking a swipe at Democrat Charlie Crist, Scott’s likely opponent in the November election.
“First off, if you think back, Charlie Crist failed us on the environment,” Scott said. “He talks a lot of things but doesn’t get anything done.”
Crist’s campaign fired back later Monday.
“This is nothing but a shameful attempt to cover up for the fact that Rick Scott spent four years selling Florida’s environment to the highest bidder,” said Crist campaign spokesman Brendan Gilfillan.
“Rick Scott gutted environmental enforcement, halted work on key Everglades restoration projects and proposed drilling for oil in ht Everglades -- all to help his big donors make more money.”
Also weighing in on Scott’s proposal: NextGen Climate, the political action committee founded by billionaire Tom Steyer, a former hedge fund manager and Democratic supporter. NextGen Climate is committed to supporting candidates who “will take bold action on climate change” and “to exposing those who deny reality and cater to special interests.”
The group is focusing on campaigns in seven states, including Florida, where it has raised $850,000 to try to defeat Scott. About $750,000 came from the group’s Sacramento-based committee and $100,000 from Coral Gables philanthropist and Democratic fundraiser Barbara Stiefel.
“Gov. Scott’s plan is a desperate election year stunt too little, too late,” states a NextGen Climate statement released three hours after Scott unveiled his proposal. “One glaring omission: Scott fails to mention the threat of climate change in his new 8-page plan.”

140805-a
Biologist are tracking a massive red tide bloom
WINKnews
August 5, 201
SARASOTA, Fla.- A huge red tide bloom is lingering in the Gulf of Mexico. Right now,  it's north of Tampa and moving south. So will it bring the fish kills and breathing problems to Southwest Florida? WINK News traveled to Mote Marine in Sarasota to get a look at the underwater tool giving scientists a new way to track the algae bloom.
"If it hangs together than it will move with the water and we all might see it, but we can't say," said Dr. Kellie Dixon with Mote Marine.
Biologist have their eyes on a massive red tide bloom lurking in the water 40 miles off Pasco and Hernando counties.
"This one is a visible bloom in the water. The people who are collecting samples can see it, feel a little tickle in their throat, that kind of thing," said Dr. Dixon.
Here's what we know: Satellite images show possible red tide is both on the surface and beneath the water. The bloom is making it's way south and southeast, traveling at a slow speed, but, does that mean it will survive a journey to Southwest Florida?
"It could take a while to get there at this rate."
Two robots, Waldo and Bass, along with a crew of biologist have been deployed to find out what the bloom is doing.
"Someone has to sit there and babysit him, hold his hand and have him phone home and see what he's producing."
So where's Waldo ? And where's Bass ?
"Ding, ding, uh ! That's Waldo phoning home !"
Since Friday, the robots have been canvasing the water in an up and down motion taking samples to confirm and learn more about this bloom.
"You can say I don't want to talk to you for 12 hours, go do your thing, or you can say I want to know what you found out in an hour."
Dr. Kellie Dixon says Waldo was used on Sanibel last year when Southwest Florida had it's last red tide bloom.
"This area is much larger than what we saw last year on Sanibel."
 Biologist will know more about this bloom when they pull Waldo and Bass out of the water, that will be done later this week or early next week.
Related:           Lake Erie Toxic Algae Blooms Are The New Normal           Deadline Detroit
Huge red tide 70 miles off Gulf Coast           Tampabay.com
Red tide moves close to Florida         WFLA

140805-c
Liberal billionaire to flood Washington, Florida with green campaign cash
DailyCaller.com
August 5, 2014
Liberal billionaire Tom Steyer is already targeting states for his $100 million spending spree to make global warming a top issue in the November elections. Democrats in Florida and Washington are likely to see a huge funding boost from Steyer and his climate activist groups.
Florida Is Drowning In Campaign Cash
Steyer, a former hedge fund manager turned eco-activist, is gearing up to take on Florida’s multi-millionaire Republican Gov. Rick Scott in his bid for re-election this fall.
Expecting a costly race in the Sunshine State, Steyer has set up a Florida headquarters for his activist group NextGen Climate Action and given it $750,000 in seed funding to lay the groundwork for his anti-Scott campaign this fall. The Miami Herald reports that Democrats are “buzzing” that Steyer could dump $10 million into Florida this fall.
Steyer plans to make sea level rises a key component of his plan to defeat Gov. Scott on the issue of global warming. Environmentalists and scientists argue that as the Earth warms, sea levels will rise, submerging many coastal regions.
“It’s hard to look at the map of the United States and not understand that not only is Florida ground zero for climate [change], it’s the third most-populous state,” Steyer told the Miami Herald.
“When you think about why this is an important state to be in, it’s because it’s actually a linchpin,” said Steyer.
But Rick Scott has his own strategy for fighting off Steyer’s attacks: spend $1 billion on environmental conservation. His plan would fund things like land and water conservation and protecting the Everglades. Scott would also spend $50 million a year on “alternative water-supply projects and another $50 million a year for natural springs restoration” as well as increasing fines for polluters, the Daily Commercial reports.
Scott’s plan has won the approval of some local environmental groups who want to see the state’s water resources receive more funding. Democrats have called the effort a phony attempt to please environmentally conscious voters.
“We agree with Governor Scott that we need to invest in protecting Florida’s water quality, the Everglades, and our treasured natural areas,” Will Abberger, campaign manager for the Florida Water and Land Legacy — a group backed by major environmental organizations.
But environmentalists say that while they agree with Scott’s efforts, they believe a pending state constitutional amendment would go farther in protecting Florida’s water resources.
Steyer’s group NextGen Climate has already conducted polling and plans big ad buys across a wide variety of mediums to defeat Scott. NexGen will also funnel lots of money to field groups that can motivate voters to get to the polls.
The Miami Herald, however, notes that Florida is the most expensive state to campaign in given its status as a swing state. In fact, in the 2010 election cycle Scott spent $75.1 million of his own money to get elected. This election cycle, he has already spent more than $20 million on TV ads, while his opponent Charlie Crist and his fellow Democrats have only spent $5 million.

140805-d
State AG should investigate Scott, King Ranch sugar scandal
Bradenton.com
August 5, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott and a host of state politicians have managed to embarrass themselves and the people of Florida again over an issue many thought had been laid to rest more than 20 years ago, when two dozen lawmakers pleaded guilty to failing to disclose free trips from lobbyists.
That scandal included hunting trips to Georgia, Texas and Mexico and eventually led the Legislature to prohibit gifts to themselves worth more than $100. But they cleverly left a loophole that allows lobbyists to give unlimited amounts to political parties, which can funnel the money to the politicians and no one will be the wiser.
Or so they hoped. But recently the Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau found that Gov. Scott, Agriculture Secretary Adam Putnam and state House leaders have accepted secret hunting trips to the fabled King Ranch in Texas.
The trips took place over the past three years, ever since U.S. Sugar leased 30,000 acres at the ranch. Since late 2011, U.S. Sugar paid more than $95,000 to the Republican Party of Florida for at least 20 weekend trips -- destinations unspecified on public documents -- within days of more than a dozen Florida politicians registering for Texas hunting licenses.
Thanks to the party fund-raising loophole, none of this may be a violation of law -- which is a scandal in itself -- but even that is not completely clear.
Current law lets donors give unlimited contributions to parties and political committees, as long as the gift serves a vaguely defined "campaign purpose." But there is no mention of the ranch trips as an expense, donation or location for fund-raising in any party campaign documents, even though six current or former elected officials have confirmed attending what they call GOP fundraisers at the King Ranch since 2011.
The glaring lack of transparency is an insult to Florida's residents. The officials involved and the party itself have gone to great lengths to hide the trips, and no one wants to talk about them. Why not? How much money was raised, if any? If there's nothing to hide, why hide it?
The elephant in the room, so to speak, is the potential for secret backroom deals. The King Ranch owns thousands of sugarcane acres in Florida and the industry -- including U.S. Sugar -- has sought relief from the Legislature over payments tied to pollution of the Everglades. Just last year, the Legislature passed and Gov. Scott signed a bill that could save sugar growers millions in industry cleanup.
On Friday, the Herald/Times disclosed that Gov. Scott named Michael A. "Mitch" Hutchcraft, an executive with the King Ranch property in Florida, to the South Florida Water Management District Board, which oversees the massive restoration of the Everglades. The appointment came just one month after Gov. Scott took his trip to the King Ranch. Mr. Hutchcraft may be well qualified to serve, but his employer's connection to the questionable hunting trips and Gov. Scott's secret involvement raise serious questions about a possible conflict of interest. Looks bad, smells bad.
The scandal cries out for an investigation by the state's attorney general, Pam Bondi, but she has shown no inclination to deal with issues that might harm her own party. Instead, she has put her priority on trying to uphold the state's archaic gay-marriage ban. That plays well on the tea-party circuit but does nothing to improve the sad state of Florida politics.
If Ms. Bondi wants to show that her office is above partisanship and will pursue wrongdoing no matter where it leads, this would be a good place to start.

140805-e
Who speaks for the public interest in Florida ?
Miami Herald – by Michael Putney
August 5, 2014
There was a time — and not that long ago — when the public interest was well represented in Tallahassee. Acting on its behalf were such lawmakers from South Florida as Dick Pettigrew, Bill Sadowski, Marshall Harris, Jack Gordon, Sandy D’Alemberte, Elaine Gordon, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Bob Butterworth, and Carrie Meek, to mention a few who come easily to mind.
Over the same period, we had governors for whom protecting and advancing the public interest was a top priority. They knew who wrote the big checks, even accepted some, but still acted on behalf of those who couldn’t pay to play — teachers, cops, firefighters and the working poor, immigrants.
I’m thinking of governors like Reubin O’D. Askew, Bob Graham, Lawton Chiles and Jeb Bush. I’m not suggesting any of them deserve canonization. They often acted in their own self-interest, but in the long run their self-interest lined up squarely with the public interest. These were elected leaders who understood that public service meant serving the public interest. They believed in the commonweal, the greater good.
Oh, where are such leaders now?
Out at the King Ranch in Texas shootin’ themselves some deer, drinking bourbon and branch and sittin’ round the fire of a night feasting on some tasty ’cue. Resting up after a long day on the hunt on Frette linens in a luxurious “bunkhouse.” All courtesy of U.S. Sugar of Clewiston, which operates solely in its self-interest. That includes seeking laws and regulations that make it easier (and cheaper) to farm thousands of acres of sugarcane in and around Lake Okeechobee, whose cultivation requires huge amounts of water and fertilizer, the run-off of which pollutes the Everglades.
You have to ask yourself, how did the governor, current and future House speakers and chairs of important legislative committees justify going on some 20 trips to the King Ranch knowing that U.S. Sugar was picking up all or most of the bill? Did they say to themselves, Nobody will ever know ? Or, I can accept this and still be independent? Or, Hey, the governor’s going so why can’t I?
I’m reminded of one of the greatest political aphorisms ever uttered, which I will clean up a bit for a family newspaper. Jesse Unruh, then speaker of the California State Assembly, once said: “If you can’t eat their food, drink their booze, mess around with their women and then vote against them in the morning you don’t belong in politics.”
It appears the top elected leadership of our state doesn’t belong in politics because they did most of what Unruh described and then voted for them in the morning, afternoon and evening. Distressingly, it appears to be legal because a loophole in state ethics laws governing gifts to lawmakers allows such boondoggles as long as they’re paid for through a third party.
In this case, the Republican Party of Florida. U.S. Sugar paid the RPOF $95,000 to be the pass-through for these trips, which are listed in party records as for “fund-raising.” Oh, and Gov. Scott says “no state business” was discussed during these jaunts. I wonder what was.
A month after returning from bagging a deer, which we’re told he mounted at his own expense, Scott appointed a King Ranch executive in charge of their agricultural acreage in Florida to the South Florida Water Management District. He may have been well qualified for the job, but it still doesn’t pass the smell test. And Scott signed a bill into law that lets the sugar industry pay a tiny percentage of the cost of Everglades cleanup, despite a constitutional amendment that says the polluter must pay.
There are good and dedicated men and women of principle who serve in the Legislature, but they are subservient to party leaders who bow before the special interests. Never in my memory has the public interest, the commonweal, been so flagrantly ignored in Florida as it is now in favor of doing the bidding of big, monied special interests.
The energy, insurance, agriculture, manufacturing and medical industries are having a field day in Tallahassee. But none more so than Big Sugar. So far this year, U.S. Sugar has contributed $2.2 million to various Florida politicians and their political action committees. The governor has raked in $534,000 all by himself. This is the same person who four years ago slammed his GOP primary opponent, Bill McCollum, as “bought and paid for” by Big Sugar. This is the same person who vowed to go to Tallahassee and change the culture. Looks like the culture changed him.

140804-a
Amendment One vote in November could send treated water south to Everglades
WPTV-Ch5 – by Jamel Lanee'
August 4, 2014
STUART, Fla. - It's a slow day at Shrimper's Bar and Grill in Stuart.
Restaurant manager Paul Hines fears it could be worse if the Army Corps of Engineers starts discharging water from Lake Okeechobee again.
"It would be another nightmare, because we've gone through this already. We've seen the drop in sales especially on weekends," said Hines.
Hines said the whole marina suffered last year after toxic algae blooms infested the waters.
Hines said, "It hurt the marina in selling gas, hurts the fisherman because no one wants to go out, and of course it hurts the restaurants because they're not out boating leisurely or coming in for lunch or dinner."
If voters pass Amendment One in November, some much needed help could come for the river and lagoon.
The amendment would allow lawmakers to allocate 33 percent of a documentary stamp tax to buy land for water conservation in the Everglades, where treated water from lake Okeechobee could be stored.
"Those are really necessary in Florida cause if we don't set aside for water conservation and storing and treating water or for our land preservation, we're gonna lose that to development and other purposes," said Mark Perry with Florida Oceanographic Society. 
Which sounds like promising news for Hines.
"It seems like a win win situation, but in the mean time, for our concerns, obviously being selfish, we'd rather have it go south," said Hines.
If levels at Lake Okeechobee surpass the elevation of the canal, the Army Corps of Engineers may have to consider discharging. 

140804-b
Gov. Scott's environmental plan promises big bucks, lacks detail
TampaBay.com – by Craigh Pittman
August 4, 2014
Amid mounting criticism of his stance on climate change and his secret hunting trip to Texas with sugar industry officials, Gov. Rick Scott on Monday unveiled an eight-page plan for how he will improve Florida's environment if the voters give him four more years in office.
Scott, speaking before the Martin County Chamber of Commerce and the Loxahatchee River Environmental Center in Jupiter, pledged to spend $1 billion on restoring the Everglades, cleaning up the polluted Indian River Lagoon, saving the state's declining springs and providing more water for the state's continued growth.
"Florida's natural beauty is a big reason why this is the best state in the country to call home," Scott said.
But Scott's plan lacks details, such as where he'd get the money. In some instances his plan calls for commitments beyond the power of a governor to carry out. Critics also note that this enthusiastic embrace of environmental protection runs counter to the approach his administration took during his first term.
For instance, when Scott signed his first budget in 2011, he vetoed the entire $305 million annual appropriation for Florida Forever, the state's politically popular environmental land-buying program that, among other things, saved areas important for recharging the underground aquifer, the main source of Florida's drinking supply. In that first year, Scott also cut $700 million from the budgets of the state's water management districts, which oversee withdrawals from the aquifer and issue permits for filling wetlands.
Now Scott says he wants to spend $150 million a year for Florida Forever. But instead of solely focusing on buying environmentally sensitive forests, beaches and wetlands, his plan says that money would be spent to "protect and take care of working agricultural landscapes," listing that buyout for beleaguered farmers and ranchers first, before parks and conservation land. His plan gives no further details.
In 2011, Scott's Department of Environmental Protection ended a springs restoration initiative launched by former Gov. Jeb Bush. Under Scott's plan, he's promising to spend $500 million on springs over 10 years — though that's six years longer than Scott would be in office, if re-elected.
In 2011, Scott also cut $700 million from the budgets of the state's water management districts, which oversee protection of the aquifer and providing money for finding alternative sources for water besides pumping it from the ground. The Southwest Florida Water Management District, for instance, helped pay for Tampa Bay Water's reservoir and desalination plant.
Now Scott's plan calls for "a 10-year, $500 million funding program for alternative water supply investment that requires an applicant to meet water conservation benchmarks to qualify for funding." The plan offers no further details of what that might mean, or how Scott would guarantee the program would continue after his second term ends.
Scott's plan also calls for persuading legislators to beef up penalties on polluters — something they have declined to do in the past.
Scott has been under fire this past week after the Times/Herald revealed that he, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Florida legislative leaders had been taking secret hunting trips to King Ranch in Texas, accompanied by officials of the sugar industry, who last year sought a break on the amount of money they have to pay to clean up pollution in the Everglades.
Scott has also taken flak for his stance on climate change. In 2011 he said he did not believe humans could alter the planet's temperature, but more recently he has modified that to simply saying, "I'm not a scientist." His environmental plan makes no mention of climate change.
Environmental groups that have been critical of Scott's action in the past, such as the Florida Conservation Coalition, said they were hopeful this new plan is not an election-year gimmick.
"He's saying the right things," the FCC's Estus Whitfield said. "I just hope he means it."
Related:           Rick Scott Unveils Re-Election Environmental Plan That Doesn't ...            ThinkProgress
Gov. Scott announces environemtnal initiative          FOX 4
Rick Scott's baffling climate hypocrisy: Pledges to protect ...           Salon
Rick Scott, Meet the Politics of Climate Change       The New Republic

140804-c
Scott to propose increased penalties for polluters
SpaceCoastDaily.com
August 4, 2014
PLAN INCLUDES $1 BILLION TOWARD PROTECTING FLORIDA'S WATERS
TALLAHASSEE, FL — Prior to the start of a statewide campaign tour, Governor Rick Scott unveiled a plan to invest additional funds toward protecting Florida waters and increase fines on Florida’s top polluters.
Below is a release from Governor Scott’s campaign:
Governor Scott will propose important new environmental policies for the 2015 legislative session and also highlight record investments in Florida’s environment during his first term. New proposals to keep Florida beautiful include a $1 billion investment in Florida’s waters, with $500 million in funding for alternative water supply and another $500 million for springs restoration. The “Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful” plan also commits to continued efforts for Everglades restoration, including new water treatment areas and water storage capabilities, and allowing the Department of Environmental Protection to issue tougher penalties for polluters and bad actors.
“Florida’s natural beauty is a big reason why this is the best state in the country to call home,” Governor Rick Scott said. “Our natural resources are the foundation of our economy – they drive tourism, housing, business, and agriculture – and they deserve our long-term commitment. We’ve made record investments in Florida’s environment, but there’s more work to be done. With a $1 billion investment in Florida’s waters, an ongoing commitment to the everglades, and tougher penalties for bad actors, we’ll ensure that Florida’s treasures are protected for generations to come.”
The “Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful” tour starts tomorrow on the Treasure Coast and will include stops in Boca Raton, Jacksonville, Miami, Naples, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach.
Governor Scott’s “Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful” plan also includes:
- Hitting polluters and bad actors with tougher penalties.
- Investing $1 billion in Florida’s waters.
- Continuing efforts to restore the Everglades.
- Commitment to protect the Keys and Apalachicola Bay.
- Creating a position within the Governor’s Office to work with stakeholders and focus on moving water south.
- Advancing the C-43 and C-44 projects for South Florida’s estuaries.
- Forming a new Indian River Estuary Program.
- Committing $150 million to preserving sensitive lands, agriculture, and parks.
- Creating a $2 million grant so Florida’s State Park System can win its fourth national gold medal.
- Establishing transparency for water projects through a science-based grant process.
- Target key ecosystems with defined goals for environmental success.

140804-d
Scott's environmental plan could be superseded by Amendment 1
Orlando Sentinel - by Aaron Deslatte,Tallahassee Bureau Chief
August 4, 2014
TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott is touring the state this week to promote a new environmental plan he intends to push if voters give him a second term in office, including more spending on conservation and heftier fines for polluters.
The plan signals his intent to keep trudging along on Everglades restoration, developing an Indian River Lagoon plan, spending more to clean up wastewater in the Keys, and increasing fines for oil and gas companies, among other polluters.
Scott's tour touts a 10-year, $1 billion effort he is pledging for protecting Florida's waters, divided evenly between developing alternative water sources and protecting Florida's springs. But there's a slight problem: Florida voters might beat him to it.
Amendment 1 on the Nov. 4 ballot would steer far more money into water protection over two decades instead of one. Voters will have a say this fall on whether to start spending more than $700 million annually on water and conservation projects, a figure that would grow to more than $1.3 billion annually over two decades.
And Florida is actually already spending pretty close to what Scott wants: an Orlando Sentinel review last month found at least $637 million in water- and land-protection programs that could have fallen under the amendment's definition, including money for Everglades and Indian River Lagoon cleanup; land management; springs protection; beach and inlet protection; lake restoration; and petroleum-tank cleanups. (The group pushing the amendment released a statement Monday praising Scott's "leadership," and imploring voters to pass the constitutional mandate.)
Scott's plan would clearly steer a larger chunk of this cash to springs protection -- but incoming Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, signaled last spring they planned to do the same. So, while Scott's announcement isn't novel, it is still noteworthy in that he is apparently on board with the concept, too.
Scott is pitching spending $50 million a year on springs. This year, lawmakers budgeted $30 million, and some will push for as much as much as $200 million annually in the future.
“Florida’s natural beauty is a big reason why this is the best state in the country to call home," Scott said in a press release. "Our natural resources are the foundation of our economy – they drive tourism, housing, business, and agriculture – and they deserve our long-term commitment."
Scott's taken a beating on environmental issues this summer, from his one-time investment in a company with ties to oil drilling in the Everglades to his refusal to meet with climatologists about global warming. Democratic rival Charlie Crist has used Scott's missteps to try and repair his own checkered record on green issues (for instance, launching an annual climate change summit only to abandon it when the economy tanked).
Scott's release also downplays controversies over some of his own recent governing history. For instance, it says during his first term the Department of Environmental Protection and water management districts worked together to "create consistency in how water withdrawals are permitted."
Environmentalists have a different take on what happened: Scott ordered water districts with more stringent rules to "water" them down to the lowest-common denominator, thus making it easier for big water-users like developers and agricultural operations to get permits. The districts have also seen a brain drain of scientists and engineers over the last four years, as the governor pushed to cut their budgets and streamline development approvals.
One of the final pieces of the plan is an idea to raise fines for polluters into scale with the damage they cause. Scott's release calls it "ridiculous" that oil and gas production facilities can be fined only $10,000 a day for violations when the economic costs they inflict could be "exponentially higher." Scott pledges in a second term to seek higher fines to "ensure fines match the value of Florida's natural resources," and give agencies more flexibility to review the track records of companies before granting permits.
This comes just weeks after Scott's DEP had to file suit against an oil company using fracking techniques in the Everglades, after approving the project just months earlier.
"We’ve made record investments in Florida’s environment, but there’s more work to be done," Scott said in his release. "With a $1 billion investment in Florida’s waters, an ongoing commitment to the everglades, and tougher penalties for bad actors, we’ll ensure that Florida’s treasures are protected for generations to come.”
Related:           Rick Scott's environment proposal does not commit dollars or support for related ballot proposal             Florida Times-Union
Rick Scott Unveils New Environmental Agenda, Draws Fire from the Left            Sunshine State News
Governor Scott visits Naples as part of environmental tour   WZVN-TV-4 hours ago
Critics Respond as Scott Unveils Election-Year Environmental Plan            The Ledger
Gov. Rick Scott pitches his $1B environmental plan Tallahassee.com

140803-a
Deadly fungus spreads in Everglades, killing trees
Associated Press
August 3, 2014
MIAMI (AP) -- A fungus carried by an invasive beetle from southeast Asia is felling trees across the Everglades, and experts have not found a way to stop the blight from spreading.
Then there's a bigger problem — the damage may be leaving Florida's fragile wetlands open to even more of an incursion from exotic plants threatening to choke the unique Everglades and undermine billions of dollars' worth of restoration projects.
Since first detected on the edge of Miami's western suburbs in 2011, laurel wilt has killed swamp bay trees scattered across 330,000 acres of the Everglades, a roughly 2 million-acre system that includes Everglades National Park. The fungus is spread by the tiny redbay ambrosia beetle, which likely arrived in this country in a shipment of wood packing material.
The same fungus also plagues commercial avocado trees and redbay trees elsewhere in Florida and the Southeast. While the state has been working with the avocado industry to mitigate the damage, there's been no way to contain it in swamp bay or redbay trees. Experts say the best defense would be stopping invasive pests from crossing U.S. borders in the first place.
Hundreds of millions of redbay trees have succumbed across six states since 2002, said Jason Smith, an expert in forest pathology at the University of Florida.
"It's amazing how much of an impact this one little tiny beetle that's no bigger than Lincoln's nose on a penny has done," Smith said in a recent interview. "And it continues to spread."
This summer, Smith will survey the national park for living swamp bay trees to collect samples in the hopes of propagating new trees resistant to the pathogen from their cuttings or seeds. The South Florida Water Management District, the state agency that oversees Everglades restoration, also plans to ramp up its monitoring and maintenance of the tree islands where swamp bays are found.
The damage is easily spotted from the air and from the highway that cuts across the Everglades. Gray skeletons of swamp bays that died in the pathogen's first wave and newly dead trees that have turned dry and brown mar the dark green tree islands that dot the vast expanse of pale sawgrass.
Each tree island is losing up to half its tree canopy, said LeRoy Rodgers, the water management district's lead invasive species biologist.
That's worrisome because invasive plants may work their way into those open spaces — like weeds in a garden, but worse.
Old world climbing fern, melaleuca, Australian pine and Brazilian pepper are the invaders that particularly worry state and federal caretakers of the Everglades. Like the invasive Burmese pythons that are blamed for dramatic drops in the populations of native mammals in the wetlands, the plants have established a home in South Florida's sunny and wet climate.
The exotic plants can transform sawgrass prairies into impenetrable thickets, and they fuel explosive fires that kill native plants adapted for less intense burns. They're not a food source for native wildlife, and in coastal areas, their roots can disrupt the nests of endangered sea turtles. They're so tenacious and difficult to remove that even if Smith finds a way to propagate swamp bays to replace the ones lost, the invasive plants could prevent them from taking root.
"We already have these problems with invasives that are almost too daunting. When you add laurel wilt to the mix, it's only going to get worse," said Tylan Dean, chief of biology at Everglades National Park.
Nonnative plants currently comprise 16 percent of the flora in the Everglades, according to a congressionally mandated restoration progress report published last month by the National Research Council.
Billions of dollars have been pledged for Everglades restoration projects that span decades, but those funds are mostly focused on restoring a more natural flow of freshwater through the wetlands south to the Florida Keys.
In spite of the disturbances they cause, invasive species haven't been factored into Everglades restoration planning beyond treating invasive plants that spread during construction, and there's little funding or manpower available to fight them back, according to the report.
"In Everglades restoration, we have a mantra: we want to get the water right," Rodgers said. "But if we cannot deal with the invasive species, we can get the water right but not get the Everglades we thought we were getting."
Related:           Everglades Trees Being Wiped Out by Blight           Earthweek

140803-b
Everglades testing ground proves attractive to animals
Sun Sentinel – by Andy Reid
August 3, 2014
First, an alligator wallowed out room for a nest. Then a daring turtle moved in. And a deer even stopped by to nose around the growing Everglades oasis.
This multi-species time share is a tree island cultivated by scientists as part of a 10-year Everglades restoration experiment, not far from neighborhoods west of Boynton Beach.
It's ability to attract these animals — along with wading birds, otter, bobcat, and rabbits — is an indication that the lessons learned there can help guide the multibillion-dollar, taxpayer-funded effort to protect what remains of the Everglades.
"When [animals] start showing up, that's an indication of success," said Eric Cline, the lead scientist overseeing the South Florida Water Management District's restoration testing area. "I feel like we are right on the verge of really making some important discoveries."
Tree islands are shared feeding and breeding grounds that used to be much more common in the Everglades.
Now scientists at the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment area, known as LILA, are creating new tree islands in the hopes of learning how to grow more or at least protect those that remain in the Everglades.
Decades of draining the land to make way for South Florida farming and development shrunk the Everglades to half its size. Pollution along with the strained water supply threatens to finish off what remains of the Everglades' tree islands, sawgrass marshes and other habitat.
Restoration work — slowed by funding delays, design changes and political fights — involves building stormwater storage and treatment areas and other ongoing pollution controls. The goal is to protect the Everglades' fading wildlife habitat that also serves as South Florida's supplemental water supply.
Help for that restoration work is coming from the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment area. That tree islands testing ground is located on 80 acres next to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge that stretches across western Palm Beach County.
The Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment area, launched in 2003, is a self-contained model of the Everglades. There, South Florida Water Management District scientists as well as researchers from universities and other agencies are recreating Everglades tree islands and sloughs and testing the effects of differing water levels and flow rates.
The idea is to figure out how to best restore the hydrology of a region where water once naturally overlapped Lake Okeechobee's southern shores and flowed in shallow sheets all the way to Florida Bay.
At the experimental area, scientists can test the effects of differing volumes of water on the tree islands, fish and wading birds. Tests show how far and how fast water and the sediment and pollutants it can carry spread through testing area.
The findings are expected to help guide water management decisions as levees are removed and other restoration advancements are made to get more water flowing south to the Everglades.
We "do experiments to try and understand what is going to happen in the Everglades," said Terrie Bates, the South Florida Water Management District's director of water resources.
Water levels and flow rates in the testing area are controlled by pumps in a recirculating water system that creates different conditions on typical Everglades wildlife habitat.
Scientists are studying how differing water levels and flow rates affect the growth and survival of tree islands, as well as studying the effects on fish and crayfish movements. They also monitor how different water conditions affect wading bird foraging.
Wading birds have long been drawn to the experimental area's tree islands. Apple snails lay their eggs on the vegetation rising out of the water, delivering the next generation of slimy delicacy that is the staple diet of the endangered Everglades snail kites.
"You can see how the water flows around the island and how the islands form over time," said Melissa Martin, ecologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who works in the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. "It's a really special project. … There is some great science come out of them."
Constructing and operating the area has cost the public about $6 million since 2004, according to the water management district. Florida has already spent more than $2 billion on Everglades restoration, with decades of work still to go.
While the restoration efforts continue, some parts of the Everglades have already lost 90 percent of their tree islands, robbing animals of high-ground needed to survive floods as well as the territory many need to feed and reproduce.
Recreating the old Everglades water flows are key to protecting the tree islands that remain and, potentially, creating new ones. Cline said more of the answers about how to make that happen are coming from their experiments.
The animals photographed by hidden research cameras at the recreated tree islands west of Boynton Beach are seen as signs of hope for Everglades restoration.
"Almost every species of animal you would find in the Everglades has part of its life cycle tied to tree islands," Cline said. "If we have healthy [animal] populations that are sustaining themselves, we know that we are doing something right."

140803-c
GOP politicians all hail King Sugar
TheLedger.com – by Daniel Ruth, Tampa Bay Times
August 3,
Last Modified: Sunday, August 3, 2014 at 1:27 a.m.
This could have been very messy. Since the famed King Ranch in Texas is known as a très chichi hunting preserve, it's a wonder the freeloading Florida politicians schlepping through the woods weren't mistaken for fat, juicy wild hogs as they tore up the landscape in the search for six-figure campaign truffles.
How do you tell the difference between a political pig at the trough and a wild boar ? The Tallahassee swine species requires a lobbyist leash.
Tampa Bay Times reporters Michael Van Sickler and Craig Pittman reported Sunday that for years some of our august public servants took time out from crusading for responsible government to sneak away to Texas for swanky hunting vacations at the King Ranch with expenses paid by U.S. Sugar.
And while folks like Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, then-Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon, Speaker-designate Richard Corcoran, House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Seth McKeel and a host of other big-shot legislators were thrilled to party on a powerful special interest's dime, these "Weekend at Sugar Daddy's" moochers were not willing to explain why they were so happy to accept some sweet baksheesh.
While they may want to claim that going on a lavish, privately funded undisclosed hunting trip at an exclusive 30,000-acre Texas enclave owned by a multinational corporation with vast agricultural interests in Florida was perfectly proper because of some clever campaign finance language, the Scott/Putnam axis of greased palms, along with the rest of their little legislative friends, were actively engaged in accepting nothing less than legalized bribes.
The Best Little Whorehouse in Tallahassee scam works this way:
If U.S. Sugar were to approach Scott, Putnam, Corcoran and other elected officials and offer to directly pay for their hunting trip expenses, these holier-than-thou public servants would indignantly refuse such a blatantly illegal invitation.
But if U.S. Sugar simply gives the money to the Republican Party of Florida, which launders the contribution back in vaguely defined "campaign purposes," the high-end influence-peddling suddenly becomes legally pure.
This was a golden opportunity for champions of the sunshine such as Scott, Putnam, Corcoran and the rest of the Snowjob of Kilimanjaro hustlers to defend the righteousness of the Texas shootout vacations, which U.S. Sugar has paid more than $95,000 since 2011 to fund.
It also would have been a chance for House Speaker Will Weatherford and incoming Speaker Steve Crisafulli, who registered for Texas hunting licenses the past three years, to clear up any confusion as to whether they, too, had spent time at the King Ranch, courtesy of one of the worst corporate polluters of the Florida Everglades.
Alas, a cone of silence descended over the junketeers. They all declined to defend their thinly veiled legalized gratuities from U.S. Sugar, referring reporters' inquiries to the Republican Party of Florida. When Putnam, who is worth nearly $7 million and ought to be able to cover his holiday expenses, was approached, he hid behind his taxpayer-funded flack, who slammed a door in a reporter's face. Now there's some savvy public relations for you.
The Republican Party of Florida wasn't much help, sending out its own flack, Susan Hepworth, to insist that even though there is no mention of the King Ranch killing-field fundraising vacations in its campaign documents, the at least 20 safaris to Texas by some of Florida's most powerful GOP lawmakers paid for by an influential corporate patron followed "the letter of the law."
Maybe so. But simply because skirting campaign finance laws written by the very people who included language creating gaping loopholes allowing for financial mischief might be barely legal, doesn't make it right.
Tallahassee's pocket-stuffers had a swell time stomping around the preserve bagging prey provided by Kings Ranch. But the real trophies are the stuffed scruples of Scott, Putnam, Corcoran, McKeel and other legislative lemmings proudly hung on the walls of U.S. Sugar — which has sent $2.2 million in contributions to Florida Republican politicians in the 2014 election cycle.
If you're concerned about the sugar industry's pollution of the Everglades, what chance do you think you have in gaining access to Scott, Putnam and the rest to press your case?
About the same as a Kings Ranch wild turkey evading an Florida elected official's cross hairs. Hardly a fair fight. But it was never intended to be fair.

140802-a
Carl Hiaasen: Bought and paid for with a Texas hunting trip
Miami Herald - by Carl Hiaasen
August 2, 2014
Festival of Whores (continued):
Back when he first ran for governor as a self-styled outsider, Rick Scott lambasted his opponent in the Republican primary for taking campaign money from U.S. Sugar, one of the worst corporate polluters of the Everglades.
Scott indignantly squeaked that Bill McCollum had been “bought and paid for” by U.S. Sugar. He said the company’s support of McCollum was “disgusting.”
“I can’t be bought,” Scott declared.
Seriously, that’s what the man said. Stop gagging and read on.
Four years later, the governor’s re-election campaign is hungrily raking in money from U.S. Sugar, more than $534,000 so far.
Exactly when Scott overcame his disgust isn’t clear, but in February 2013 he and undisclosed others jetted to the King Ranch in Texas for a hog- and deer-hunting junket on U.S. Sugar’s 30,000-acre lease.
Apparently this has become a secret tribal rite for some top Florida Republicans. Exposed last week by reporters Craig Pittman and Michael Van Sickler of the Tampa Bay Times, the politicians ran like jackrabbits for the hills.
All questions were redirected to the state Republican Party, which couldn’t get its story straight. “Fundraising” wound up as the official explanation for the free pig-shooting sorties.
Scott refused to field questions about the King Ranch shindig. A spokesman said the governor covered his own air flight and hunting license.
Days later, a bit more information: Scott shot a buck deer on the trip, his flak said, and paid the taxidermist out of his own pocket. What a guy!
A month after his secret safari, the governor appointed an executive of King Ranch’s Florida agricultural holdings to the board of the South Florida Water Management District, the agency supposedly supervising the Everglades cleanup.
The inner circle, you see, goes unbroken.
Agriculture Secretary Adam Putnam was so mortified to be asked about his King Ranch excursions that he slithered behind a door that was then shut in a reporter’s face. Slick move. Putnam is the same social butterfly who once criticized the state law forbidding elected officeholders from accepting gifts like free trips, booze and meals. Putnam lamented that the ban was “a disincentive for fellowship.”
Thwarting the statutory gift ban has been accomplished by letting the political parties operate as money launderers for special interests. U.S. Sugar, for example, gives tons of cash to the Republican Party of Florida, which then spreads it around to Scott, Putnam and other candidates for purported political expenses.
The King Ranch, which has its own sugar and cattle holdings in Florida, has also hosted GOP House Appropriations Chair Seth McKeel and Dean Cannon when he was House Speaker.
The current House Speaker, Will Weatherford, and the incoming speaker, Steve Crisafulli, have both received Texas hunting licenses, although they won’t say if they’ve been to the King spread.
Florida has an abundance of deer and wild hogs, but an out-of-state safari offers the appeal of seclusion and anonymity. Interestingly, no Republican senators or Democratic leaders appear to have participated in the King Ranch flyouts. Former Gov. Charlie Crist, Scott’s likely opponent in November, has taken contributions from Big Sugar, but said he’s never been to the ranch.
Buying off politicians with hunting and fishing trips is an old tradition in Tallahassee, interrupted by the occasional embarrassing headline followed by flaccid stabs at reform.
Nobody believes the absurd GOP party line saying that the King Ranch hunting jaunts are “fundraisers.” They’re just free (or heavily discounted) vacations.
You really can’t blame Big Sugar or its lobbyists. They know who and what they’re dealing with; the only issue is the price.
The company has given more than $2.2 million to Republican candidates in the 2014 election cycle, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t get its money’s worth.
Taxpayers, not the sugar tycoons, remain stuck with most of the cost of cleaning up the Everglades. Every time someone tries to make the polluters pay a larger share, the idea gets snuffed in Tallahassee.
Meanwhile the politicians who could make it happen are partying in Texas with the polluters — shootin’ at critters, smokin’ cigars, sippin’ bourbon around the fire. Hell, maybe there’s even a steam bath.
These are the people controlling the fate of the Everglades. They’ve been bought and paid for, just like Rick Scott said four years ago. Now he’s one of them. His staff won’t say why he changed his mind about taking Big Sugar’s money. It also won’t say where he put the stuffed head of that buck he killed at the King Ranch.
The bathroom wall would be a fitting place, hanging right over the toilet where he flushed his integrity.
Related:           Rep. Caldwell defends Texas hunting trip     The News-Press
Ron Littlepage: Gov. Scott's sugar rush         Florida Times-Union
Once a US Sugar foe, Scott now accepts its contributions, hunting ...          Tampabay.com

140802-b
Deep in the heart of Texas
Miami Herald – Editorial
August 2, 2014
OUR OPINION: Florida officials’ undisclosed hunting trips cry out for investigation
Gov. Rick Scott and a host of state politicians have managed to embarrass themselves and the people of Florida again over an issue many thought had been laid to rest more than 20 years ago when two dozen lawmakers pleaded guilty to failing to disclose free trips from lobbyists.
That scandal included hunting trips to Georgia, Texas and Mexico and eventually led the Legislature to prohibit gifts to themselves worth more than $100. But they cleverly left a loophole that allows lobbyists to give unlimited amounts to political parties, which can funnel the money to the politicians and no one will be the wiser.
Or so they hoped. But recently the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau found that Gov. Scott, Agriculture Secretary Adam Putnam and state House leaders have accepted secret hunting trips to the fabled King Ranch in Texas.
The trips took place over the past three years, ever since U.S. Sugar leased 30,000 acres at the ranch. Since late 2011, U.S. Sugar paid more than $95,000 to the Republican Party of Florida for at least 20 weekend trips — destinations unspecified on public documents — within days of more than a dozen Florida politicians registering for Texas hunting licenses.
Thanks to the party fund-raising loophole, none of this may be a violation of law — which is a scandal in itself — but even that is not completely clear.
Current law lets donors give unlimited contributions to parties and political committees, as long as the gift serves a vaguely defined “campaign purpose.” But there is no mention of the ranch trips as an expense, donation or location for fund-raising in any party campaign documents, even though six current or former elected officials have confirmed attending what they call GOP fundraisers at the King Ranch since 2011.
The glaring lack of transparency is an insult to Florida’s residents. The officials involved and the party itself have gone to great lengths to hide the trips, and no one wants to talk about them. Why not? How much money was raised, if any? If there’s nothing to hide, why hide it?
The elephant in the room, so to speak, is the potential for secret backroom deals. The King Ranch owns thousands of sugarcane acres in Florida and the industry — including U.S. Sugar — has sought relief from the Legislature over payments tied to pollution of the Everglades. Just last year, the Legislature passed and Gov. Scott signed a bill that could save sugar growers millions in industry cleanup.
On Friday, the Times/Herald disclosed that Gov. Scott named Michael A. “Mitch” Hutchcraft, an executive with the King Ranch property in Florida, to the South Florida Water Management District Board, which oversees the massive restoration of the Everglades. The appointment came just one month after Gov. Scott took his trip to the King Ranch. Mr. Hutchcraft may be well qualified to serve, but his employer’s connection to the questionable hunting trips and Gov. Scott’s secret involvement raise serious questions about a possible conflict of interest. Looks bad, smells bad.
The scandal cries out for an investigation by the state’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, but she has shown no inclination to deal with issues that might harm her own party. Instead, she has put her priority on trying to uphold the state’s archaic gay-marriage ban. That plays well on the tea-party circuit but does nothing to improve the sad state of Florida politics. If Ms. Bondi wants to show that her office is above partisanship and will pursue wrongdoing no matter where it leads, this would be a good place to start.

140802-c
Mangroves already on the move in Southwest Florida
News-Press.com – by Steve Doane
August 2, 2014
The spidery-looking mangroves stretch about 60 feet from the seawall guarding Centennial Park in downtown Fort Myers.
The plants separate the park from the Caloosahatchee River and provide welcome greenery. But they have nowhere to move, which means they're doomed to drown in the next hundred years due to sea level rise.
"They can't move away from the water, which means they probably won't survive," said Jim Beever, principal planner for the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council.
Mangroves are trees that are tolerant of salt water, but only to a certain extent. They will drown when seawater rises.
In the past, mangroves have dealt with sea level rise and fall through their ability to migrate and "build land" around them. However, as the rate of sea level rise accelerated during the 20th century, mangroves became less effective at building land, said Kevin Cunniff, research coordinator for Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in an emailed response to The News-Press.
Mangrove wetlands provide a host of ecological benefits to Southwest Florida.
They're the primary nursery habitat for most important commercial and recreational fish species, including tarpon and grouper. In addition to serving as a food source, most of the fallen leaves from mangroves pile up beneath the roots and enable the trees to essentially create land, Cunniff said.
Mangrove loss also severely impacts estuarine food webs, reduces species diversity, and results in an overall decline in coastal/estuarine ecosystem health.
The created land serves as a barrier for coast structure, mitigating the effects of storm surge and erosion. Intact mangrove forests also capture sediments transported inland during storms, enhancing their ability to serve as land builder, he said.
The issue for many of Southwest Florida's mangroves is a lack of space. Coastal development and erosion control structures like the seawall at Centennial Park prevent the trees from migrating away from the rising seas, Beever said.
Also at issue is the rate at which sea levels rise. Mangroves and salt marshes can move when the Gulf gets higher. It's already happening across the region.
Salt marshes near Matlacha Pass, San Carlos Bay and Little Pine Island moved more than a football field inland between 1953 and 2010 due to sea level rise, according to research from the regional planning council.
Scientists have also recorded a phenomena in Pine Island Sound called "doughnut islands." These are mangrove islands with a forested interior. As sea levels have risen, the less salt-tolerant plants in the center of the island drown, leaving only the mangroves around the exterior.
"It's all a matter of time for the mangroves," Beever said. "If given the time and space these plants will adapt. If not, they'll die."
READ:
Southwest Florida governments not planning for sea rise
Storms, saltwater threaten flooding, drinking water
Erosion a big threat to SWFL beaches, coffers
How is everyone else dealing with sea level rise?
Southwest Florida governments not planning for sea rise      Lehigh Acres News Star

140801-a
Big Sugar bags trophy with politicians at King Ranch
Miami Herald - by Fabiola Santiago
August 1, 2014
The name — King Ranch — seems fitting given that the Florida politicians who frolicked at the famed Texas hunting ground during junket trips sponsored by Big Sugar act more like monarchs than elected officials of the Sunshine State.
Google images if you have the stomach for dead animals and picture the scene: Gov. Rick Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, and some of the Legislature’s gun-loving GOP leaders running around shooting up game in a secluded preserve where they can’t fail because the prey is readily available.
Scott reportedly bagged a buck and paid to have it mounted as a trophy.
It’s dark political comedy.
We could roll out a good laugh and leave the tale at that, were it not for the pesky and disturbing details unveiled by Tampa Bay Times journalists surrounding the secret trips to the luxury hunting lodge built on acreage that U.S. Sugar leases on King Ranch.
The hunting trips — a perfect setting for private dealings and influence-peddling — were financed all or in part through donations to the Republican Party of Florida by U.S. Sugar, which ended up benefiting from a bill passed by these same legislators and signed by Scott.
By limiting Big Sugar’s liability, the legislation saved the company millions it would’ve had to spend in cleaning up the pollution that the industry heaped upon the Everglades.
Through analysis of documents (travel logs, hunting licenses, campaign contributions) and dogged interviewing, reporters Michael Van Sickler and Craig Pittman pieced together ethically questionable behavior that politicians and the GOP are trying hard to hide.
From Scott — whose reelection campaign has received $534,462 from U.S. Sugar and $25,000 from King Ranch, also a player in Florida’s sugar and citrus industries — Big Sugar got more than favorable legislation.
A month after Scott returned from his February 2013 hunting expedition, Scott appointed a King Ranch executive, Mitchel A. Hutchcraft, to fill a vacancy on the board of the South Florida Water Management District, the agency overseeing the multibillion dollar Everglades clean-up.
Since we’re talking hunting here, let’s just say Scott couldn’t have picked a better fox to guard the hen house. Hutchcraft is the King Ranch vice president in charge of the Florida agricultural acreage.
Looks like the ones who bagged a trophy were Big Sugar industries.
As the scandal played out this week, Scott campaigned in Hialeah as if nothing of importance to Floridians was happening.
He basked in the glow of adoring senior citizens oblivious to Scott’s refusal of needed federal Medicaid dollars or his hunting escapade. He flaunted some Spanish, pandering, as did his lieutenant governor, who brought to the event the obligatory Castro brothers reference.
King Ranch business in the news. Little Ranch on the campaign trail.
No matter the setting, nothing of substance is ever said in public by the governor facing reelection. Talking serious state business, apparently, is what he does while aiming his shotgun at a prized buck.
What else can a Floridian expect from the King of the Gunshine State and his court of hunters?
Related:
Fred Grimm: Florida politicians are the real quarry on King Ranch
Why won't Florida GOP leaders talk about trips to King Ranch in Texas ?

140801-b
Florida Waterfowl Summit to focus on water issues
Gainesville.com - by Carlos E. Medina, Correspondent
August 2, 2014
A few years ago, after sometimes crossed messages from different state and federal agencies about projects to rehabilitate and protect wetlands in Florida, a group of duck hunters decided that a summit to bring the agencies together could help focus efforts — and in turn better protect duck habitats.
But the 2014 Florida Waterfowl Summit is more than just about ducks. In its fourth year, the summit, scheduled for Aug. 14 and 15 at the Hilton Ocala, will focus more on water issues and wetland management.
“The degradation of water and the loss of wetlands affects ducks, but it’s about a lot more than that. There are a bunch of species it affects. It’s about the whole ecosystem,” said Steve Pasteur, a member of United Waterfowlers of Florida, which started the summit. This year, the summit includes speakers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the St. Johns Water Management District.
“Each of them share their knowledge and research with the other, and they can hopefully work together for the common goal,” Pasteur said.
Though not as deeply ingrained in the culture as in other parts of the country, duck hunting in Florida is a very popular activity. Every year, between 15,000 and 17,000 duck hunting permits are issued, said Jamie Feddersen, FWC waterfowl and small game coordinator.
The state offers several duck varieties available in only a handful of states and one that is native only to Florida.
The Florida mottled duck does not migrate, and each travels only within a 20-mile radius, said Ron Bielefeld, an FWC duck biologist who has studied the Florida mottled duck for decades.
“They are completely contained within Florida. There are other mottled ducks in Texas and Louisiana, but genetic work has shown our birds are distinctive and are at least a subspecies,” Bielefeld said.
Healthy wetlands and waterways in Florida, a prime destination and stopover for migrating ducks, is essential for their survival.
“It takes a lot of energy and resources during their migration. A lot of ducks winter here and get nice and fat eating the plants that are available. Without a good source of food, they won’t have that energy to make the trip back home,” Feddersen said. “Females in particular expend a lot of resources producing eggs. If they leave Florida healthy, there is a better chance they will do well breeding.”
Feddersen thinks the summit has helped foster communication among agencies.
“It’s been a chance to get some good working relationships built across agency lines,” he said.
This year’s proposed duck hunting season is Sept. 20-28 for wood and teal ducks; open season is from Nov. 22-30 and Dec. 6 to Jan. 25.
“Florida is really sort of an undiscovered gem as far as waterfowl hunting goes,” Feddersen said.
There is no charge to attend the summit, but preregistration is required. To pre-register, go towww.unitedwaterfowlersfl.org/forum/showthread.php?p=304294/.
Facts - If you go
What: 2014 Florida Waterfowl Summit
When: Aug. 14-15
Where: Hilton Ocala, 3600 SW 36th Ave.
Cost: Free, but must preregister prior to event
Website: www.unitedwaterfowlersfl.org/forum/showthread.php?p=304294
Contact: John Hitchcock, 321-729-3646

140801-c
Scott put King Ranch exec on South Florida Water District Board
Times/Herald – by Craig Pittman & Michael Van Sickler
August 1, 2014
TALLAHASSEE | A month after Gov. Rick Scott took a secret hunting trip to the King Ranch in Texas last year, he faced a big decision.
A seat had come open on the board that oversees Florida's efforts on the multibillion-dollar project to repair damage to the Everglades caused by agriculture. To fill that position, Scott picked a corporate executive named Mitchel A. "Mitch" Hutchcraft.
Hutchcraft's major qualification for a seat on the board of South Florida Water Management District: He is the vice president in charge of the King Ranch's Florida agricultural acreage.
"That's astounding," said David Guest of the Earth­justice Legal Defense Fund, which has repeatedly sued the agency over its protection of Lake Okeechobee and other water-related issues.
Scott's announcement of Hutchcraft's appointment in March 2013 made no mention of what the governor's staff called a fundraising trip the month before. Scott's trip wasn't listed anywhere on his official calendar; nor is there any mention of King Ranch donations from that period in his campaign finance reports.
VISIT TO KING RANCH
Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and several current and former leaders of the Florida House took secret trips to the famed Texas ranch that were financed, at least in part, by the sugar industry. Those confirming that they went refused to provide details about the trips.
Instead, they referred reporters' questions to the Republican Party of Florida, although party leaders said they didn't go on those trips. A party spokeswoman, Susan Hepworth, said she didn't know whether anyone other than sugar lobbyists and executives accompanied the politicians, and said the party never discloses any details of its fundraising.
In response to questions from Times/Herald reporters, a spokesman for Scott's re-election campaign, Greg Blair, issued a statement this week that said while Scott was at the ranch, "no state business was discussed." He also said Scott killed a buck that he paid to have mounted as a trophy.
Hutchcraft, who has worked for King Ranch since 2007, declined to be interviewed about his appointment. His boss, King Ranch CEO Robert Underbrink, didn't return calls.
Hutchcraft was one of 11 applicants for three openings on what has been described as the "most powerful unelected, unpaid government seats in South Florida." He told the Fort Myers News-Press that his top priorities were "polluted water flows from Lake Okeechobee and area Everglades restoration projects" — two subjects dear to the heart of sugar companies, such as his employer.
EXTENSIVE HOLDINGS
King Ranch's holdings in Florida are extensive. In southern Florida, it owns 40,000 acres in a dozen separate citrus groves that make it the state's largest grower of juice oranges. It also owns 20,000 acres near Belle Glade, 12,000 of which are devoted to sugar cane and the rest to sod, sweet corn, green beans and specialty lettuce.
Two of King Ranch's corporate entities, Consolidated Citrus and Running W, have been reliable contributors to Republican candidates in Florida, chipping in $41,450 since Hutchcraft came aboard in 2007. Democrats have received only $500 during the same period.
Hutchcraft's LinkedIn profile says his King Ranch position puts him in charge of "land acquisition, protection of assets from changing regulations, long term value enhancement of real estate assets, public policy, and operational enhancement through real estate projects."
INDUSTRY INSIDERS
Despite the opportunity for conflicts, appointing industry insiders to boards that oversee and regulate their interests is not unusual. At the same time Scott appointed Hutchcraft, he appointed a development consultant named Rick Barber to another open seat on the board. Hutchcraft replaced Joe Collins, vice president of Lykes Brothers, one of the largest landowners in the United States, with large cattle, citrus and sugar holdings in Florida.
Hutchcraft is well known to environmental activists in Southwest Florida, who opposed his push for a growth plan in Hendry County that allowed greater development of the ranch's property there, according to Andrew McElwaine, former head of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
But Eric Draper of Audubon Florida wrote a letter in support of Hutchcraft's 2013 application, stating that his "collaborative and science-based approach to land and water management will make him a valuable member" of SFWMD.

140801-d
Scott, Putnam, Weatherford should explain Texas trips
Tampa Bay Times - Editorial
August 1, 2014
When prominent Florida politicians repeatedly gather in Texas for secret hunting weekends as guests of a special interest, the public has an interest in who attended, who paid and who said what. Yet Gov. Rick Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, House Speaker Will Weatherford and other legislative leaders are refusing to provide basic details about their so-called fundraising trips to a legendary Texas ranch leased by Florida sugar interests. The outrage is that these trips appear to be legal and that these politicians are more interested in privately courting a big political donor than in publicly explaining themselves to the voters who elected them.
To keep repeated rendezvous private, U.S. Sugar and elected officials have exploited intentional blind spots in the state's gift ban and campaign finance laws. State law doesn't ban officials from accepting meals, travel or coverage of other expenses when they are raising money for a political party. And campaign finance records submitted by the Republican Party of Florida can be opaque about exactly how such money was spent.
Tampa Bay Times' reporters Michael Van Sickler and Craig Pittman found that since late 2011, U.S. Sugar has donated more than $95,000 in in-kind contributions to the Republican Party of Florida for at least 20 weekend trips. The destination was undisclosed. But the contributions came within days of more than a dozen Florida politicians registering for Texas hunting licenses. U.S. Sugar has built a private lodge on thousands of acres it leases from King Ranch in southeast Texas. Beyond Scott and Putnam, those who have benefited from the private retreat include past, present or anticipated future House Speakers Dean Cannon of Winter Park, Weatherford of Wesley Chapel, Steve Crisafulli of Merritt Island and Richard Corcoran of Trinity; legislative budget leaders and other prominent members.
Just what happens at King Ranch when Tallahassee's elite decamps there ? Apparently not much fundraising. Key Republican Party officials said they weren't even aware of the weekend junkets. Campaign finance records show no pattern of party contributions commensurate with hunting trip dates, but there are expenditures for travel, a taxidermist and lunch at a local Texas diner.
Putnam won't say much about his trips there other than to confirm there haven't been "more than a handful" and that he hunted deer and hogs. Never mind he is the state's chief agriculture regulator, overseeing various operations not just of U.S. Sugar but also King Ranch, which has significant Florida holdings, including major citrus operations.
Scott, who won the Republican primary four years ago in part by blasting his opponent, Attorney General Bill McCollum, for accepting Big Sugar donations, is now reaping the same largesse for his re-election bid. And within a month of his trip to King Ranch in February 2013, he tapped a King Ranch Florida employee to serve on the South Florida Water Management board — the most powerful entity in South Florida when it comes to the nexus of agriculture and water use, including the cleanup of the Everglades. No wonder nobody wants to talk about trips to Texas.
Elected leaders hiding behind political party fundraising to avoid discussing their extended interactions with special interests at a private retreat a thousand miles away? Floridians have every reason to suspect they have something to hide. Time for Scott, Putnam, Weatherford and the rest to explain just what that is.

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